Izidor Cankar (22 April 1886 – 22 September 1958) was a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, art historian, diplomat,

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

, and

liberal conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by li ...

politician. He was one of the most important Slovenian art historians of the first part of the 20th century, and one of the most influential cultural figures in interwar Slovenia.

Early life

Izidor Cankar was born in

Šid Šid ( sr-cyr, Шид, ) is a town and municipality located in the Srem District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It has a population of 14,893, while the municipality has 34,188 inhabitants. A border crossing between Serbia and ...

, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (now part of the

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

n province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

). His father, Andrej Cankar, was a Slovene tradesman from

Inner Carniola Inner Carniola ( sl, Notranjska; german: Innerkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the southwestern part of the larger Carniola region. It comprises the Hrušica karst plateau up to Postojna Gate, bordering the Slovenian Littoral (the ...

, while his mother, Marija Huber, was from a mixed Danube Swabian–

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

family. Izidor was a cousin of the famous writer

Ivan Cankar Ivan Cankar (, ) (10 May 1876 – 11 December 1918) was a Slovene writer, playwright, essayist, poet, and political activist. Together with Oton Župančič, Dragotin Kette, and Josip Murn, he is considered as the beginner of modernism in Slov ...

. At the age of seven, his father went bankrupt. Young Izidor was taken into foster care by his aunt Karolina Hofberg. Cankar grew up in a multicultural environment, and spoke Croatian, German, and Hungarian from a young age. He attended Croatian-language schools, and throughout his life he claimed his Croatian was better than his Slovene. In 1897, his cousins

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

and Karlo Cankar convinced him to move to

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

, where he attended the Classical Lyceum.slo.slohost.net
/ref> In 1905, after finishing high school, he decided to become a priest and enrolled in the Roman Catholic seminary in Ljubljana. There, he met the theologian Andrej Kalan, who had a decisive influence on Cankar's future intellectual development. After finishing the study of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

in Ljubljana in 1909, he enrolled in the University of Louvain, where he studied esthetics. During this period, he also spent time in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. In 1910, he enrolled in the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The univers ...

, where he studied philosophy. In 1913, he obtained a PhD in art history at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

with a thesis on the Italian baroque painter Giulio Quaglio, which he wrote under the supervision of the Slovene art historian France Stele. The same year he returned to Ljubljana, where he became the editor of the Catholic journal ''

Dom in svet ''Dom in svet'' ("Home and World") was a Catholic cultural and literary journal published in Slovenia. History and profile ''Dom in svet'' was published from 1888 to 1943. Its long-running rivalry with the national-liberal journal ''Ljubljanski ...

'', transforming it into the most prestigious literary magazine in the

Slovene Lands The Slovene lands or Slovenian lands ( sl, Slovenske dežele or in short ) is the historical denomination for the territories in Central and Southern Europe where people primarily spoke Slovene. The Slovene lands were part of the Illyrian provin ...

. Between 1918 and 1919, he worked as the chief editor of the conservative daily '' Slovenec'', the most widespread Slovenian newspaper of the time. During the same period, he became active in the Slovene People's Party, taking part in the negotiations for the unification of the

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( sh, Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba / ; sl, Država Slovencev, Hrvatov in Srbov) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( ...

with the Kingdom of Serbia. After the formation of a unified Yugoslav state, he continued his studies in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

under

Max Dvořák Max Dvořák (4 June 1874 – 8 February 1921) was a Czech-born Austrian art historian. He was a professor of art history at the University of Vienna and a famous member of the Vienna School of Art History, employing a ''Geistesgeschichte'' met ...

. In 1920, he returned to Ljubljana, where he became the director of the newly established Slovenian National Gallery. In 1923, he became a professor at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

. During the same period, he decided to leave the priesthood. He did so in 1926, and married Ana Hribar, who came from a wealthy Ljubljana family. His departure from the priesthood and the Catholic Church and subsequent marriage surprised and outraged Ljubljana.''Izredna civilna poroka v Ljubljani'' Jutro. 1926. Št. 2 (18 July). S.3

/ref> In 1933, he founded the Slovenian section of the International P.E.N., and he served as its first president until 1935. In May 1933, during the 11th congress of the international P.E.N. Club in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

, Cankar voted for the expulsion of pro-

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

writers from the organization, in contrast to the Croatian and Serbian representatives. At the same time, he became a close friend of the Yugoslav sculptor

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pavle Bilinić's ...

and served as the godfather of his second daughter. In the late 1930s, he convinced his wife's family to donate money for the construction of the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana, of which he served as supervisor.

Diplomatic and political career

In 1936, Cankar was named Yugoslav ambassador to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. He was in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

during the

Axis invasion of Yugoslavia An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

in April 1941. In 1942, the Yugoslav government in exile named him ambassador to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In 1944, he resigned in protest against the policies of Prime Minister Božidar Purić, who continued to support the Serbian Chetnik resistance movement of Draža Mihajlović even after claims of his collaboration with the

Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

s in the fight against Tito's Partisans. Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King offered him a post in the Canadian foreign service, but Cankar declined. After the

Treaty of Vis A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

was signed between the newly appointed Yugoslav Prime Minister in exile

Ivan Šubašić Ivan Šubašić (; 7 May 1892 – 22 March 1955) was a Yugoslav Croat politician, best known as the last Ban of Croatia and prime minister of the royalist Yugoslav Government in exile during the Second World War. Early life He was born in Vuk ...

and the Yugoslav communist resistance leader Josip Broz Tito in June 1944, Cankar was named Minister of Culture and Telecommunications in the new coalition government. However, he resigned in autumn of the same year after failing to convince the leadership of the Slovene People's Party to recognize the

Liberation Front of the Slovenian People The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation ( sl, Osvobodilna fronta slovenskega naroda), or simply Liberation Front (''Osvobodilna fronta'', OF), originally called the Anti-Imperialist Front (''Protiimperialistična fronta'', PIF), was a Slovene ...

and join forces with the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод� ...

. In February 1945, he went to liberated Belgrade and was named ambassador to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. In 1947, he returned to

, where he worked as a consultant for the National Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art. He was critical of the communist regime, but did not engage in any political action. In 1953, he became a member of the

Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( sl, Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti (SAZU)) is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members ...

. He died in Ljubljana in 1958, age 72, and was buried in

Žale Žale Central Cemetery ( sl, Centralno pokopališče Žale), often simply Žale, is the largest and the central cemetery in Ljubljana and Slovenia. It is located in the Bežigrad District and operated by the Žale Public Company. History The ce ...

Cemetery.

Writing

In his early years, Cankar wrote several renowned essays, mostly related to esthetic issues. In 1911, he published the book ''Obiski'' (''Encounters''), a collection of interviews with contemporary Slovene authors and artists (

Rihard Jakopič Rihard Jakopič (12 April 1869 – 21 April 1943) was a Slovene painter. He was the leading Slovene Impressionist painter, patron of arts and theoretician. Together with Matej Sternen, Matija Jama and Ivan Grohar, he is considered the pio ...

Fran Saleški Finžgar Fran Saleški Finžgar (February 9, 1871 – June 2, 1962) was perhaps the most popular Slovene folk writer. He is particularly known for his novels and short stories, although he also wrote poems and plays. Life Fran Saleški Finžgar was born ...

Ivan Tavčar Ivan Tavčar () (28 August 1851 – 19 February 1923) was a Slovenian writer, lawyer, and politician. Biography Tavčar was born into the poor peasant family of Janez and Neža née Perko in the Carniolan village of Poljane near Škofja Loka ...

Oton Župančič Oton Župančič (January 23, 1878 – June 11, 1949, pseudonym ''Gojko'') was a Slovene poet, translator, and playwright. He is regarded, alongside Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn, as the beginner of modernism in Slovene literature. ...

, Franc Ksaver Meško, and others). In 1913, he wrote his only major literary work, the essayistic novel, ''S poti'' (''On the Way''), written as a travelogue through

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In 1926, Cankar published a major treatise in art history, ''Uvod v umevanje likovne umetnosti'' (''An Introduction to the Understanding of Figurative Art''), where he developed a systematic stylistic typology based on the theories of

Heinrich Wölfflin Heinrich Wölfflin (; 21 June 1864 – 19 July 1945) was a Swiss art historian, esthetician and educator, whose objective classifying principles ("painterly" vs. "linear" and the like) were influential in the development of formal analysis in ar ...

. In the same year, he started publishing his

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

, ''Zgodovina likovne umetnosti v zahodni Evropi'' (''History of Figurative Art in Western Europe''), in which he applied his own esthetic theory in the overview of western art between

late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

. Between 1926 and 1936, he published the first critical edition of collected works of the writer

, his cousin. In 1948, he also published Ivan Cankar's correspondence. Izidor Cankar was also a translator: among other, he translated works of

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

, Patrick Augustine Sheehan, André Maurois and

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

Publications

* Cankar Iz. ''S poti''. Ljubljana: Nova knjižnica / Nova založba, 1919. 3, 117 s.; ''Z cesty'' // Návštěvy. Sv. 5. Eva, 1921. 131 s. (czech); 2nd ed. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1996. 252 s. * Cankar Iz. ''Uvod v umevanje likovne umetnosti. Sistematika stila''. Izdaja 3.,. V Ljubljani: Karantanija, 1995. 185 s. * Cankar Iz. ''Obisk na Rožniku'' In: Ivan Cankar, slovenski pisatelj: (1876-1918). Ljubljana: Mestni muzej, 1956. Translations * Lewis S. Babbitt / prevedel ''Izidor Cankar''. Ljubljana : Državna založba Slovenije, 1953. 362 s. * Swift J. Guliverjeva potovanja / prevedel ''Izidor Cankar''. Ljubljana : Cankarjeva založba, 1967. 335 s.

Early life

Diplomatic and political career

Writing

Publications

See also

References

Further reading