ExhibitionsPortrayals of France Prešeren

Digital exhibition

»Kedar bodem ženin, bodeš me slikal.«

Portrayals of France Prešeren from the Gorenjski Museum collection and Prešeren monuments in Kranj.

Franz Goldenstein, France Prešeren, 1850 — Franz Kurz zum Thurn und Goldenstein, France Prešeren, oil on canvas, 1850

Portrayals of France Prešeren

Through the poems of Dr France Prešeren we follow his life’s path and the influence of the cultural-historical circumstances in which he created. The poet’s poetry has revealed his character, his desires and longings.

Prešeren’s true outward appearance, however, remains unknown, even though numerous painters, sculptors, illustrators, caricaturists and even comic-strip creators tried to portray him.

The portrait that never was

There are many anecdotes and stories about who wanted to paint Prešeren during his lifetime and how he avoided sitting for a portrait. In Ljubljana the poet was in contact with many painters, among them Matevž Langus. He once dismissed Langus in jest, saying: “When I get married, you shall paint me.” We know that Prešeren never married.

Prešeren disliked being portrayed — supposedly because he had no time to sit still for hours, or perhaps because he wanted his poetry, not his likeness, to speak of him after death. No portrait or photograph of him was made during his lifetime, so posthumous portrayals represent his personality and significance more than his outward appearance.

We present selected visual portrayals of Dr France Prešeren from the Gorenjski Museum collection and Prešeren monuments from Kranj.

Timeline of images

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1850

Franz Kurz zum Thurn und Goldenstein

1807–1878

The first portrait of Prešeren, painted by the Ljubljana painter of German origin Franz Goldenstein, is the only one made from memory, barely a year after Prešeren’s death. The painter and the poet knew each other, but from 1846, when Prešeren moved to Kranj, they never met again.

It is an oil painting by an average painter, small in size, yet it attracted great attention when it appeared. Experts saw in it a considerable resemblance to Prešeren’s actual appearance. The portrait, at least as regards facial features and bohemian style, remained the basis for many later portrayals of the poet.

1865

Franc Ksaver Zajec

1821–1888

The first bust of Prešeren was made as early as 1865 by Franc Ksaver Zajec, at that time the only academically trained Slovenian sculptor. The plaster portrait bust was included in the living picture Apotheosis of Prešeren. In 1991 it was found and several casts were made; a bronze one was placed in front of Prešeren’s birthplace in Vrba in 2000.

c. 1900

Ivan Grohar

1867–1911

The Impressionist painter portrayed Prešeren around 1900 at the celebration of the centenary of the poet’s birth. At the time the portrait went unnoticed; later it was even questioned whether the man in the painting was Prešeren at all. The painter avoided a bohemian depiction, yet the thoughtful expression, emphasised by the hand under the chin, dismisses those doubts.

Ivan Grohar, domnevno France Prešeren, okoli 1900

1922

Miha Maleš

1903–1987

Painter and printmaker Miha Maleš was closely connected with literary life in his visual work. Among the portraits he created we also find portrayals of France Prešeren. The 1922 linocut, for which Maleš took as a model the self-portrait of painter Matevž Langus — then still believed to be a portrait of Prešeren — shows the poet’s profile. The 1940 print depicts a typically Biedermeier-dressed Prešeren.

1927

Hinko Smrekar

1883–1942

Hinko Smrekar, author of satirical illustrations and portrait caricatures, was — like Maksim Gaspari — one of the Vesna group artists who portrayed Prešeren. Smrekar found the efforts of artists who painted Prešeren’s portraits futile, since no one could judge which likeness came closest to the poet’s true appearance.

1944

France Mihelič

1907–1998

In February 1945 the newspaper Slovenski poročevalec published a decree declaring the day of Prešeren’s death, 8 February, a cultural holiday. The decree was accompanied by a print by France Mihelič. It is clear that Goldenstein’s portrait served as his model. Unlike Goldenstein’s, Mihelič’s print has a monumental effect.

1946–53

Božidar Jakac

1899–1989

Painter Božidar Jakac is considered a pioneer of Slovenian fine-art printmaking. He devoted enormous time, skill and effort to creating Prešeren portraits. In portraying him he drew on Goldenstein’s portrait, on the memories of sister Lenka Prešeren and daughter Ernestina Jelovšek, and on photographs of relatives.

Jakac presented Prešeren in mature years, with a slightly lofty expression, yet convincingly and representatively. The public received his portraits with great favour.

Božidar Jakac, France Prešeren, oil on canvas, 1953

1948

Maksim Gaspari

1881–1980

Maksim Gaspari, known for his homely expression and for incorporating ornament and motifs from folk tradition, is counted among Prešeren’s great admirers. His style matched the idealised image of Prešeren, whom he also portrayed in illustrations, postcards and caricatures. Gaspari depicted the poet in a romantic atmosphere, in his younger years and — unlike other artists — often in good spirits.

1949–52

Frančišek Smerdu

1908–1964

The larger-than-life bust of France Prešeren stands in Prešeren’s House in Kranj. It was unveiled on the centenary of Prešeren’s death, 8 February 1949; the sculptor received the Prešeren Award for it. The portrayal was seen as Prešeren the rebel, a symbolic forerunner of the fighters.

The town of Kranj also commissioned from Frančišek Smerdu the monumental Prešeren memorial in front of the Prešeren Theatre Kranj. Sculptor Peter Loboda assisted in its making; it was unveiled on 28 December 1952.

Spomenik dr. Franceta Prešerna pred Prešernovim gledališčem Kranj

1968

Lojze Dolinar

1893–1970

The bronze bust of France Prešeren stands in the middle of Prešeren Grove, the former Kranj cemetery. Lojze Dolinar modelled the bust in 1962; it was cast in bronze and erected in 1968. In modelling it he relied on Goldenstein’s portrait, but rejuvenated and strengthened it considerably. The bust stands on a Gothic-stylised funerary pedestal.

1990

Marjan Belec

1918–2001

Kranj painter Marjan Belec portrayed Prešeren several times. In the portrait from the Gorenjski Museum collection the poet is painted monumentally, in the classical manner of 19th-century portrait painting. Prešeren holds his Poems in his hands; his pose is simple.

Marjan Belec, Pesnik, oil on canvas, 1990

2018

Jože Trobec

b. 1948

Painter Jože Trobec drew France Prešeren with a peaked cap. Creating the illustration for a comic strip about the poet, he relied on the memories of Prešeren’s sister Lenka, who recalled that Prešeren wore such a “cap with a peak” every day. It was made for him by Kranj furrier Konrad Pučnik.

More artists in the gallery

Elko Justin

1903–1966

Elko Justin, printmaker, draughtsman and illustrator, was a great collector of everything related to France Prešeren. With stencil-like decorative drawing and historicism he among other things illustrated Ilka Vašte’s Novel about Prešeren. These are portrayals of the poet in the company of friends Matija Čop, Andrej Smole, and Julija Primic and Ana Jelovšek.

Given Justin’s deep attachment to everything Prešeren-related, it is no surprise that he portrayed the poet in an idealised realist manner. Elko Justin, like Prešeren’s daughter Ernestina Jelovšek, died on Prešeren’s birthday, 3 December.

Elko Justin, Dr. Prešeren, pen drawing, 1939

Drago Tršar

b. 1927

Prešeren Award recipient, sculptor Drago Tršar also took up portraying human figures. From 1963 he modelled nearly 80 portraits of well-known Slovenian personalities, including a bronze relief portrait of France Prešeren. He too relied on Goldenstein’s portrayal of the poet.

Drago Tršar, Portret, bronze, early 1980s

Miha Kač

1942–2018

Self-taught sculptor Miha Kač made more than three hundred portraits of personalities who shaped our cultural and scientific life. Already as a thirteen-year-old boy he attempted a portrayal of France Prešeren. The portrait in the Gorenjski Museum collection is based on Goldenstein’s portrait, but is a strongly emphasised idealisation.

Miha Kač, Dr. France Prešeren, fired clay, 1996