Tone Kralj

TONE KRALJ (1900, Zagorica pri Dobrepolju – 1975, Ljubljana) was a painter, graphic artist and sculptor. He studied in Prague and later in Vienna, Paris, Venice and Rome. His stylistic development runs from Art Nouveau via expressionism and New Objectivity to ‘monumental realism’ in the years after the Second World War. The permanent exhibition includes 88 of his works. Besides family portraits, the prevailing themes are historical scenes of peasant revolts and wars, rural and working-class life, and Bible scenes and illustrations. The permanent collection has been on view since 1974 and was redesigned in 2000 and 2013.

In 2013 the new permanent display was implemented that encompasses 88 artworks; some of the fundamental works are also loaned from other art institutions, such as Museum of Modern Art Ljubljana, Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana, Museum of Contemporary History Ljubljana, Slovene Ethnographic Museum, Art Gallery Maribor. The display is conceived chronologically while there is bigger emphasis on the period of advanced studies in the 1920s, while in the 1930s the portraits in vein of New Objectivity are more thoroughly showcased. Moreover, there are number of works that could be labelled as social realism. In the period after the World War Two his illustration body of work is highlighted, as well as woodcuts from the series Soil that sensibly concludes themes such as carnival and wedding which preoccupied him throughout his artistic career. Beside the family portraits the display is dominated by the motifs of historical scenes, peasant revolts and wars, peasants’ and workers’ everyday life, and biblical motifs. The permanent exhibition also includes the documentary about the life and work of Tone Kralj which was authored by dr. Igor Kranjc and Sašo Vrabič, with the support of Dobrepolje municipality.