Gojmir Anton Kos
Encyclopedia
Gojmir Anton Kos was a Slovene academic painter
, a photographer and a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts
in Ljubljana
.
(then part of Austria-Hungary
, now in Italy
), where his father, the renowned historian
Franc Kos from the vicinity of Škofja Loka
in Carniola
, taught at the prestigious State Gymnasium
. His mother was a Friulian
from the Austrian Littoral
. Gojmir's older brother Milko
later also became a famous historian and rector of the University of Ljubljana
.
Gojmir studied at the Academy of Fine Arts
in Vienna
with professors Rudolf Bacher and Julius Schmidt. Due to the collapse of Austria-Hungary
, he finished his last semester at the College of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb
, from 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 Ljubljana
where at first he taught at secondary schools. After World War II
he was appointed full professor of drawing at the newly established Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana where he stayed until his retirement in 1962. From 1948 to the spring of 1949 he also directed the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana
.
, portrait
s, monumental scenes from Slovene history
(exhibited in the Slovenian Presidential Palace
), figurative compositions and still life
s, in which he especially excelled. His favorite medium was oil on canvas
although in his first years he also created some book illustrations, some posters and furniture. In his works he emphasized light contrasts and color
over the reality of images.
Gojmir Anton Kos was also a keen photographer and the organiser of the first photography exhibition in Ljubljana.
Gojmir Anton Kos won numerous prizes for his work, among others the Prešeren Award
for his oil painting
Dekle s harmoniko ("Girl with an Accordion") in 1947 and another one for his oil painting Avtoportret ("Self-Portrait") in 1950. In that year he also exhibited at the Venice Biennale
. On December 6, 1949 he became a member of the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Academic art
Academic art is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, which practiced under the movements of Neoclassicism and Romanticism,...
, a photographer and a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts
Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Ljubljana
The Academy of Fine Arts and Design , is a prestigious art academy and institution based in Ljubljana, Slovenia . It is part of the University of Ljubljana....
in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
.
Biography
Gojmir was born in the town of GoriziaGorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...
(then part of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, now in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
), where his father, the renowned historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Franc Kos from the vicinity of Škofja Loka
Škofja Loka
-Art colony:Before the civil war in the former Yugoslavia the Serbian town of Smederevska Palanka and the town of Škofja Loka held art colonies Groharijeva kolonija run by an art teacher from elementary school Olga Milošević in Smederevska Palanka. Now, after the split of SFR Yugoslavia, the two...
in Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
, taught at the prestigious State Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
. His mother was a Friulian
Friulians
Friulians or Furlans are a linguistic minority living in Italy and elsewhere. About 530,000 of them live in the provinces of Udine and Pordenone and in parts of Gorizia and Venice. Their language, the Friulian language, is the second largest minority language in Italy. About 170,000 Friulians live...
from the Austrian Littoral
Austrian Littoral
The Austrian Littoral was established as a crown land of the Austrian Empire in 1849. In 1861 it was divided into the three crown lands of the Imperial Free City of Trieste and its suburbs, the Margraviate of Istria, and the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca, which each had separate...
. Gojmir's older brother Milko
Milko Kos
Milko Kos was a Slovenian historian, considered the father of the so-called Ljubljana school of historiography....
later also became a famous historian and rector of the University of Ljubljana
University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. With 64,000 enrolled graduate and postgraduate students, it is among the largest universities in Europe.-Beginnings:...
.
Gojmir studied at the Academy of Fine Arts
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is an institution of higher education in Vienna, Austria.- History :The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy by the court-painter Peter Strudl, who became the Praefectus Academiae Nostrae. In 1701 he was ennobled as Baron of the Empire...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
with professors Rudolf Bacher and Julius Schmidt. Due to the collapse of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, he finished his last semester at the College of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, from where he graduated in 1919. At that time he also passed an examination qualifying him as a professor of drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
. In 1924 he moved to Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
where at first he taught at secondary schools. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was appointed full professor of drawing at the newly established Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana where he stayed until his retirement in 1962. From 1948 to the spring of 1949 he also directed the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana
Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana
The Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana, Slovenia, is the central museum and gallery of the Slovenian art works from the 20th and 21st century. It was formally established by decree of the government of the People's Republic of Slovenia on 30 December 1947, and officially opened to the public on 3...
.
Work
The paintings of G. A. Kos were mainly landscapesLandscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
, portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
s, monumental scenes from Slovene history
History of Slovenia
The history of Slovenia chronicles the period of the Slovene territory from the 5th Century BC to the present times. In the Early Bronze Age, Proto-Illyrian tribes settled an area stretching from present-day Albania to the city of Trieste. The Holy Roman Empire controlled the land for nearly 1,000...
(exhibited in the Slovenian Presidential Palace
Presidential Palace, Ljubljana
The Presidential Palace is the official residence and office of the President of Slovenia, located in Ljubljana, Slovenia.The palace was constructed from 1886 as the headquarters of local administration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After World War II, the building housed the constitutional court...
), figurative compositions and still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
s, in which he especially excelled. His favorite medium was oil on canvas
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
although in his first years he also created some book illustrations, some posters and furniture. In his works he emphasized light contrasts and color
Color
Color or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors...
over the reality of images.
Gojmir Anton Kos was also a keen photographer and the organiser of the first photography exhibition in Ljubljana.
Gojmir Anton Kos won numerous prizes for his work, among others the Prešeren Award
Prešeren Award
Prešeren Award is the highest decoration in the field of artistic and in the past also scientific creation in Slovenia awarded each year to one or two eminent Slovene artists...
for his oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
Dekle s harmoniko ("Girl with an Accordion") in 1947 and another one for his oil painting Avtoportret ("Self-Portrait") in 1950. In that year he also exhibited at the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
. On December 6, 1949 he became a member of the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts.