Marij Pregelj (8 August 1913 – 18 March 1967) was a Slovene painter, considered one of the key figures in Slovene painting in the second half of the 20th century. Pregelj was born in Kranj in 1913 and was the son of the Slovene writer and playwright Ivan Pregelj. He studied art at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts from 1932 to 1936. He was known for his oil paintings, mostly landscapes, still lifes, and portraits, and also for his illustrations, most notably those for the 1950 and 1951 editions of Anton Sovre's translation of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...

and

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

. He won the

Levstik Award The Levstik Award ( sl, Levstikova nagrada) is a literary award in Slovenia awarded for achievements in children's literature. It has been bestowed since 1949 by the Mladinska Knjiga Publishing House, making it the first literary award established ...

for his illustrations three times: in 1949 for his illustrations for

France Bevk France Bevk () (17 September 1890 – 17 September 1970) was a Slovene writer, poet and translator. He also wrote under the pseudonym Pavle Sedmak. Biography Bevk was born in the mountain village of Zakojca (Coizza during Italian rule, now p ...

's collection of stories ''Otroška leta'' (My Childhood Years), in 1957 for

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

's ''

White Fang ''White Fang'' is a novel by American author Jack London (1876–1916) — and the name of the book's eponymous character, a wild wolfdog. First serialized in ''Outing'' magazine between May and October 1906, it was published in book form in Oc ...

'' (Slovene title: ''Beli očnjak''), and in 1959 for Hemingway's ''

The Old Man and the Sea ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cayo Blanco (Cuba), and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction written by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. O ...

'' (Slovene title: ''Starec in morje''). He won the

Prešeren Award The Prešeren Award ( sl, Prešernova nagrada), also called the Grand Prešeren Award ( sl, Velika Prešernova nagrada), is the highest decoration in the field of artistic and in the past also scientific creation in Slovenia. It is awarded each yea ...

twice, in 1958 for his

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

at the Worker's Union building in

Trbovlje Trbovlje (; german: Trifail''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 4: ''Štajersko''. 1904. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 58.) is Slovenia's tenth-largest town, and the seat of the Municipality ...

and in 1964 for an exhibition of his paintings in the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in Ljubljana the previous year.Slovenian Ministry of Culture, complete list of the Grand Prešeren Awards recipients
In 1969 he was also the first recipient of the Jakopič Award for painting. From December 2017 to May 2018, a

retrospective exhibition A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...

of Pregelj's oeuvre was held at the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana.

References

Slovenian male painters Slovenian illustrators Artists from Kranj 1913 births 1967 deaths Levstik Award laureates Prešeren Award laureates Jakopič Award laureates Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb alumni 20th-century Slovenian painters 20th-century Slovenian male artists {{slovenia-artist-stub