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Ferd Vesel is considered one of the Slovenian realist painters who worked at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He began learning to draw at a young age, when he attended the Ljubljana Realka. There, he acquired basic knowledge of artistic techniques, and then continued his education at the Vienna Academy.

In his free time, he often visited galleries and smaller art collections to copy the works of old masters. This was a popular practice among artists, as this was how they trained in painting. During his studies, Vesel liked to hang out with colleagues who painted from nature. One of these was Ivana Kobilca, who introduced him to the circle of Bohemian artists during his stay in Paris. This kind of painting style brought some freshness to Ferd's artwork, which he continued with in the circle of Slovenian impressionists. From the previously brownish and monochromatic palette, it transformed into a much brighter one in the second phase. The difference can also be seen in the construction of the composition, as the paintings became much more transparent and purified. During this time, he also began to explore the mutual relationship between light and color, as he was fascinated by the French Impressionists in Paris.

After a short stay in France, he went to serve in the military. He continued his art education in Munich. There he met Anton Ažbet. Together with him, in 1895, they founded a painting school in Schwabingen, in which Rihard Jakopič also participated, and then Vesel returned to his homeland. He worked as a professor at the Ljubljana Realka, where he taught art classes. In his free time, he loved to paint, as he soon established himself as a respected portraitist in the city. His subjects radiate a special liveliness and sincerity, so that they appear as convincing as possible before the viewer's eyes. He also painted still lifes, nudes, landscapes, and genre scenes with an emphasis on Slovenian folklore.

Throughout his life, the artist actively participated in major and minor exhibitions. Among the most important is the Venice Biennale in 1897, where he was awarded a prize for his work. Ferdo Vesel remains one of the last representatives of realistic art in Slovenia, whose works significantly influenced new generations of artists in the 20th century. His works reached Munich, Venice, London, and Belgrade. In 1948, a major exhibition was held in Ljubljana, paying tribute to Vesel's artistic talent.

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Ferda Vesela uvrščamo med slovenske slikarje realiste, ki so ustvarjali na prelomu 19. v 20 stoletje. Risanja se je pričel učiti že v mladih letih, ko je obiskoval ljubljansko realko. Tam je pridobil osnovna znanja o umetniških tehnikah, nato pa je svojo izobrazbo nadaljeval na dunajski akademiji.

V prostem času je večkrat zahajal v galerije in manjše umetnostne zbirke, da je kopira dela starih mojstrov. To je bila priljubljena praksa med umetniki, saj so se s tem uril v slikanju. V času študija se je Vesel rad družil s kolegi, ki so slikali v naravi. Ena takšnih je bila Ivana Kobilca, ki ga je med bivanjem v Parizu seznanila s krogom boemskih umetnikov. Tovrsten način slikanja je v Ferdove umetnine prinesel nekaj svežine, s katero je nadaljeval tudi v krogu slovenskih impresionistov. Iz prej rjavkaste in monokromatske palete, se je ta v drugi fazi prelevila v dosti bolj svetlo. Razliko je mogoče opaziti tudi pri gradnji kompozicije, saj so slike postale dosti bolj pregledne in izčiščene. V tem času je pričel raziskovati tudi medsebojni odnos med svetlobo in barvo, saj so ga v Parizu očarali francoski impresionisti.

Po kratkem postanku v Franciji, je odšel na služenje vojaškega roka. Umetnostno izobraževanje je nadaljeval še v Münchnu. Tam se je seznanil z Antonom Ažbetom. Skupaj z njim, sta leta 1895 ustanovila slikarsko šolo v Schwabingenu, pri kateri je sodeloval tudi Rihard Jakopič, nato pa se je Vesel vrnil v domovino. Deloval je kot profesor na ljubljanski realki, kjer je poučeval likovni pouk. V prostem času je rad slikal, saj se je v mestu kmalu veljavil kot cenjen portretist. Njegovi upodobljenci namreč izžarevajo posebno živost in iskrenost, tako da pred gledalčevimi očmi delujejo kar se da prepričljivo. Slikal je tudi tihožitja, akte in krajino ter žanrske prizore s poudarkom na slovenski folklori.

Skozi vse življenje se je umetnik aktivno udeleževal večjih in manjših razstav. Med najpomembnejše sodi beneški bienale, leta 1897, kjer so mu podelili priznanje za njegovo delo. Ferdo Vesel ostaja eden zadnjih predstavnikov realistično usmerjene umetnosti v Sloveniji, ki je s svojimi deli pomembno vplival na nove generacije umetnikov v 20. stoletju. Njegova dela so dosegla München, Benetke, London in Beograd. Leta 1948 so mu v Ljubljani priredili veliko razstavo, s katero so se poklonili Veselovemu umetnostnemu talentu.

The text was prepared for the Porta Alpina gallery by Pia Župevec, B.Sc. art history
Besedilo je za galerijo Porta Alpina pripravila Pia Župevec, dipl. um. zgod.

SOURCES/VIRI:

• Špelca ČOPIČ, Slovensko slikarstvo, Ljubljana 1966.
• Luc MENAŠE, s. v. Vesel, Ferdo, Evropski umetnostno zgodovinski leksikon, Ljubljana 1971,
  col. 2245.
• Alenka SIMONČIČ, Ferdo Vesel, Sto umetnin Narodne galerije (Ljubljana, Narodna galerija, ed. Mateja Breščak, Ljubljana 2016, pp. 114-117.
• France STELE, Slovenski slikarji, Ljubljana 1949, p. 158.