Rihard Jakopič (12 April 1869 – 21 April 1943) was a Slovene painter. He was the leading Slovene

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

painter, patron of arts and theoretician. Together with Matej Sternen,

Matija Jama Matija Jama (4 January 1872 – 6 April 1947) was a Slovenes, Slovene Painting, painter. Together with Rihard Jakopič, Ivan Grohar and Matej Sternen, he is considered among the best representatives of Impressionism in the Slovene Lands. Life ...

and

Ivan Grohar Ivan Grohar (15 June 1867 – 19 April 1911) was a Slovene Impressionist painter. Together with Rihard Jakopič, Matej Sternen, and Matija Jama, he is considered one of the leading figures of Slovene impressionism in the fin de siecle ...

, he is considered the pioneer of Slovene Impressionist painting.

Life

Rihard Jakopič was born in Krakovo, a suburb of

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, the capital of

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

in the

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, now Slovenia. His father, Franc Jakopič, was a well-situated tradesman with agricultural goods. His mother was Neža, née Dolžan. Rihard was the youngest of eight children. Jakopič studied at the intermediate secondary school from 1879 to 1887. After passing an entry exam, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, for a short time returned home due to an illness, and then resumed his studies in 1888. In 1889, he entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and in 1890, the Ažbe Art School in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Then he lived in Ljubljana, where he participated in the establishment of the Slovene Art Society, and after 1902 in

Škofja Loka Škofja Loka (; ) 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 at an elevation of ...

. In 1903, he continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Jakopič returned to Ljubljana in 1906. He was one of the early members of the

Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( (SAZU)) is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members of the academy. Cultural significance Establis ...

, founded in 1938. Jakopič died at his home in Ljubljana at 1:45 pm on 21 April 1943 after a long and difficult illness. A wake was held at his residence at New Square () no. 2, and he was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery (now Žale Cemetery) on 23 April 1943 after a ceremony at 3:30 pm at Saint Joseph's Chapel.

Legacy

Over 1200 paintings and 650 drawings by Jakopič have been preserved. In Ljubljana, Jakopič established the Slovene School of Impressionist Drawing and Painting, the predecessor of the Academy of Fine Arts 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 ...

. He was an initiator for the foundation of the National Gallery of Slovenia. In 1908, he built a

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

in Tivoli Park, based on plans by the architect

Max Fabiani Maximilian Fabiani, commonly known as Max Fabiani (, ) (29 April 1865 – 12 August 1962) was an Italians, Italian architect, born in the village of Kobdilj near Štanjel on the Karst Plateau, County of Gorizia and Gradisca, in present-day Sl ...

. The Jakopič Pavilion became the central venue for art exhibitions in the Slovene Lands at the time. In 1962, due to the relocation of a railway line, it was demolished.

Commemoration

In 1965 a primary school in Šiška was named after him. Since 1969, the Jakopič Award, the highest Slovenian award in fine arts, is presented annually. In 1970–72, a statue of Jakopič by Bojan Kunaver was erected on the original site of the pavilion. In 1979, a new Jakopič Gallery () opened at Slovene Street () in Ljubljana. After Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia, Jakopič was portrayed by Rudi Španzel on the 100 Slovenian tolar banknote, in circulation from October 1991 until the introduction of

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

in January 2007.

Selected works

*''Sončni breg'' (Sunny Hillside; 1903), National Gallery, Ljubljana *''Breze v jeseni'' (Birches in Autumn; 1903), National Gallery, Ljubljana *''Kamnitnik v snegu'' (Kamnitnik Hill in the Snow; 1903), National Gallery, Ljubljana *''Sončni breg'' (Sunny Hillside; 1903), National Gallery, Ljubljana *''Zima'' (Winter; 1904), National Gallery, Ljubljana *''Pri svetilki'' (By the Lamp; 1904), National Gallery, Ljubljana *''Študija sonca'' (A Study of the Sun; 1905), National Gallery, Ljubljana *''Križanke'' (1909), National Gallery, Ljubljana *''Spomini'' (Memories; 1912), National Gallery, Ljubljana *''Zeleni pajčolan'' (The Green Veil; 1915), National Gallery, Ljubljana *''Večer na Savi'' (Evening on the Sava River; 1926), National Gallery, Ljubljana *''Slepec'' (Blind Man; 1926), National Gallery, Ljubljana

References

External links

Slovene Early Modernism: Rihard Jakopič
National Gallery of Slovenia site. Retrieved 8 May 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jakopic 1869 births 1943 deaths People from the Urban Municipality of Ljubljana Academic staff of the University of Ljubljana Slovenian impressionist painters Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Academy of Fine Arts in Prague alumni Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni People with epilepsy Burials at Žale Painters from Austria-Hungary