Jakob Savinšek (4 February 1922 – 17 August 1961) was a
Slovene sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
,
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...
, and
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
.
Life
Savinšek was born in the
Upper Carniola
Upper Carniola ( ; ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The largest town in the region is Kranj, and other urban centers include Kamnik, Jesenice, Jesenice, Jesenice, Domžale and ...
n town of
Kamnik
Kamnik (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 26–27. or ''Stein in Oberkrain'') is the ninth-largest town of Slovenia, located in t ...
, then part of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...
(now in
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
), where he spent his youth. After finishing
secondary school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
in
Ljubljana
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Ljubljana
, official_name =
, settlement_type = Capital city
, image_skyline = {{multiple image
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, he studied
medicine
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
at the
University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana (, , ), abbreviated UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 38,000 enrolled students. The university has 23 faculties and three art academies with approximately 4,000 teaching and re ...
. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, he studied drawing under the tutorship of
Rihard Jakopič
Rihard Jakopič (12 April 1869 – 21 April 1943) was a Slovenes, Slovene painter. He was the leading Slovenes, Slovene Impressionist painter, patron of arts and theoretician. Together with Matej Sternen, Matija Jama and Ivan Grohar, he is conside ...
and sculpture under the supervision of
Karla Bulovec Mrak. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the
Italian annexation of Ljubljana he was imprisoned in
Ljubljana Castle
Ljubljana Castle (, ) is a castle complex standing on Castle Hill above downtown Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is a key landmark of the town. Originally a medieval fortress, it was probably constructed in the 11th century and rebuilt in t ...
for collaborating with the
Liberation Front of the Slovenian People. In 1942, he was later sent to the
Gonars concentration camp
The Gonars concentration camp was one of the several Italian concentration camps and it was established on February 23, 1942, near Gonars, Italy.
Many prisoners were transferred to this camp from another Italian concentration camp, the Rab co ...
. He was released after the
Italian armistice in September 1943. A devout
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, he decided to join the
Slovenian Home Guard
The Slovene Home Guard (, SD; ) was a Slovenes#World War II and aftermath, Slovene anti-Slovene Partisans, Partisan militia that was founded and supported by the Germans and fought alongside them against the Partisans. It operated during part of ...
, an
Anti-Communist
Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
militia collaborating with the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
against the
Partisan resistance. He deserted before the end of the war, thus securing himself an indulgent treatment by the new
Titoist
Titoism is a Types of socialism, socialist political philosophy most closely associated with Josip Broz Tito and refers to the ideology and policies of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) during the Cold War. It is characterized by a br ...
regime.
[ Taras Kermauner, Skupinski portret z Dušanom Pirjevcem (Ljubljana: ZPS, 2002), 159-160]
Between 1945 and 1949, he studied sculpture at the
Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana. In the 1950s he emerged as one of the most prominent Slovenian sculptures of the younger generation, together with
Drago Tršar,
Boris and
Zdenko Kalin. He continued his studies in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, and
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
In the late 1950s, he entered in conflict with the foremost Slovenian sculptor of the time,
Stojan Batič, and founded his own artistic circle, composed not only of young and talented visual artist, but of literates and theatre people such as
Dino Radojević,
Herbert Grün,
Saša Vuga,
Dušan Pirjevec and
Andrej Hieng.
[''Dušan Pirjevec: slovenska kultura in literarna veda'' (Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta), 310-11]
He died in
Kirchheim,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, while attending a sculptors' workshop. He is buried in
Žale
Žale Central Cemetery (), 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 cemetery was built in 1906 behin ...
Cemetery in Ljubljana.
Work
Savinšek dedicated himself mostly to figural art, with a preference in psychologically analytic portraits and female nudes.
[expressionism
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...]
), but he gradually turned to his own modernist style, in which he experimented with the volume of sculpture.
He also produced some graphics and illustrations.
His best-known works are the monuments to
. He was also a renowned book illustrator. Among others, he illustrated books by
. Gradnik admired Savinšek's work, and the two developed a close friendship.
Savinšek also wrote poetry throughout most of his adult life, but he never published it. His manuscripts are kept in the
. The first collections of his poems was published in 2003 by the literary magazine ''KUD Logos'', edited by the philosopher
*Andrej Smrekar, "Jakob Savinšek: ob dvajsetletnici smrti" in ''NR Po Svetu'' (August 28, 1981).