Gojmir Anton Kos (January 24, 1896 – May 22, 1970) was a Slovene academy-trained painter, photographer, and professor at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

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 ...

. Gojmir was born in the town of

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gori ...

(then part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, now in Italy), where his father, the renowned historian Franc Kos from the vicinity of

Škofja Loka Škofja Loka (; german: Bischoflack) is a town in Slovenia. It is the economic, cultural, educational, and administrative center of the Municipality of Škofja Loka in Upper Carniola. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Geography Škofja Loka lies ...

in Carniola, taught at the

State Gymnasium State Gymnasium is an arena on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. It was opened in 1913, and once was the school's primary indoor athletic facility, before the opening of Hilton Coliseum. It is located at the corner of Union Dr ...

. His mother was a Friulian from the Austrian Littoral. Gojmir's older brother Milko later also became a prominent historian and chancellor of 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 ...

. Gojmir studied at the

in Vienna under Rudolf Bacher and Julius Schmidt. Due to the collapse of

, he finished his last semester at the College of Arts and Crafts in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, where he graduated in 1919. At that time he also passed an examination qualifying him as a professor of drawing. In 1924 he moved to

, where he initially taught at secondary schools. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he was appointed a full professor of drawing at the newly established Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana, where he remained until his retirement in 1962. From 1948 to the spring of 1949 he also directed the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana.

Work

Kos' paintings were mainly

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the p ...

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

s, monumental scenes from Slovene history (exhibited in the Slovenian Presidential Palace), figurative compositions, and still lifes, at which he especially excelled. His favorite medium was

oil on canvas Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest o ...

, although in his early years he also created some book illustrations, posters, and furniture. In his works he emphasized light contrasts and color over the reality of images. Kos was also an avid photographer and the organiser of the first photography exhibition in Ljubljana. Kos won numerous prizes for his work, including 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 ...

for his

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

''Dekle s harmoniko'' (Girl with an Accordion) in 1947 and again for his oil painting ''Avtoportret'' (Self-Portrait) in 1950. In that year he also exhibited at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. On December 6, 1949 he became a member of the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kos, Gojmir Anton 1896 births 1970 deaths Slovenian realist painters Slovenian photographers Modern painters Expressionist painters Prešeren Award laureates Academic staff of the University of Ljubljana Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts People from Gorizia Slovenian people of Friulian descent Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni University of Zagreb alumni Art Nouveau painters