Jurij Šubic comes from a large family of artisans. His father was his first art teacher, then he was trained in Ljubljana by Janez Wolf, like his older brother Janez Šubic. Finally he studied at the Vienna art academy. Jurij was the first Slovenian artist to experience the French artistic milieu first-hand. Between 1880 and 1890 he was living in Paris, receiving ever more numerous commissions; during this time he paid several visits to his family. He was also the first Slovenian artist who managed to enter the Salon, the most influential French annual exhibition. He dedicated his artistic endeavours to human figure, genre scenes and natural light effects. He is considered to be the greatest in the first generation of Slovenian realist painters; his very successful career was terminated by his premature death.