The Kroples art collection was created over many decades, away from the daily routine and dedicated to the search for beauty.
The selection includes sixty-six works of art by thirty Slovenian artists who were active in the second half of the nineteenth century and the twentieth century. One work is by the painter Berta Zois Moro from the Austrian region of Carinthia, also from the second half of the nineteenth century.
The exhibition is arranged chronologically and according to groups of related content, forming a coherent narrative and guiding visitors to follow the course of the exhibition tour. The flow of progress extends from Biedermeier and bourgeois landscape painting deep into the twentieth century. The coherence of the artworks and their iconography were taken into account, such as landscape scenes, ethnographic motifs, figures in intimate acts, still lifes, works with elements of Symbolism, Expressionism and New Objectivity as well as those of "moderate Modernism".
The painters Marko Pernhart and Anton Karinger depicted mountain landscapes in the late Romantic spirit, frozen lakes, realistic panoramic views of Mt. Dobratsch, the magnificent alpine landscape with Mt. Triglav, the symbol of Slovenianism, and the like. Slovenian customs, scenes from the everyday lives of ordinary people or from folk tales were popular with Ivana Kobilca, Ivan Grohar, Maksim Gaspari, Gvidon Birolla, Hinko Smrekar and Tone Kralj.
The only classical motif in the exhibition is by Henrika Langus. Also on display are numerous paintings of fashionable, sophisticated salon women, depicted sitting in armchairs, strolling along promenades or along the shores of secluded waters, performing everyday or the most intimate acts; they were created by painters such as Ferdo Vesel, Matej Sternen, Rihard Jakopič, Fran Tratnik and Veno Pilon.
Still lifes, popular for centuries and offering artists various challenges, are also shown in paintings by Matija Jama and Gojmir Anton Kos, among others.
The Kroples art collection impresses with its outstanding quality, exquisite taste and author-specific conception. The visual excellence of the artworks promises aesthetic pleasure, while the originality of the project is evident from the methodically collected self-portraits by the artists Maksim Gaspari, Gojmir Anton Kos, Maksim Sedej, Nikolaj Omersa and Zoran Mušič.
March 7 to July 14, 2024
