Painter and restorer Miha Pirnat (born 1924) began to
gain experience in artistic expression at the School of Arts and Crafts. Later,
he continued his studies of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts. He completed
his studies in 1957, after spending a further two years specialising in restoration
work. At the School of Arts and Crafts, where he was taught by Zoran Didek and
Maksim Sedej, among others, as well as later at the academy, he turned to
painting watercolours, which became part of his intimate, personal experience
of the world.
Thus watercolours cover the most significant part of
Pirnat’s oeuvre, oil paintings are rather rare. As watercolour painting is a
quick technique, it is quite understandable that he fell in love with it, since
he was constantly pressed for time. His watercolours mainly feature landscapes,
there are few genre scenes. He also painted several self-portraits, something
rather rarely taken up by watercolour painters. He looked for motifs in the
immediate vicinity of his home, or in Ljubljana where he attended school. Later
on, he painted in his spare time, at the weekends, or to relax after the
strenuous restoration fieldwork when he was separated from his home and family.
At times, painting watercolours helped fulfil his need to express artistic
ideas, while at other times it was a form of meditation, and occasionally such
painting even served as a sketch for an oil painting. Even the watercolours
from his early period, before his studies at the academy, demonstrate
considerable virtuosity, both in composition and in the rendering of
perspective and colour. Over years of hard work, he developed into a mature and
expert watercolour painter.
Pirnat’s watercolours are direct, light and uncluttered;
but the painted surface is often quite full yet artistically no less expressive.
There is no room for any modification here – a watercolour either works or it
doesn’t, repairing it in any way would only result in a smudgy smear; and
nothing of the sort can ever be found among his watercolours. The colour scale
of his early watercolours is quite intense, and the technique applied comes
close to oil painting (Venice, 1947). Later on, the scale is more subdued, and
the paintings acquire the light and airy features that are so typical of most
of his watercolours. The motifs vary considerably: from emotionally charged to
calm and intimate moods within his family. Therefore, it comes as no surprise
that he portrays his home interiors with so much love. This clearly shows how
attached he was to his family, while his landscapes also reveal how close he
felt to the beautiful land of Slovenia.
Landscape motifs painted in different seasons make up
the most abundant part of his oeuvre, since Miha Pirnat devoted most of his time
particularly to these themes. The perspective and character of place are a
faithful depiction of nature and both – complemented by light colours – can be
instantly recognised. These motifs often include farmhouses and other rural
buildings, village vistas and parts of rural settlements. Painted most
frequently are Sevnica Castle and the area surrounding Hrastovlje, as these
locations were both closely related to his restoration fieldwork. Another motif
he typically painted is a village on the Croatian coast – Banjole and its
immediate surroundings. Pleasantly surprising are his tranquil forest motifs,
ideal for long walks and hikes. Landscapes featuring trees, painted in one form
or another, often appearing in the foreground, are also one of his regular
motifs.
His coastal landscapes are particularly poignant and
idyllic, radiating a somewhat mysterious mood, a peaceful reflection on the
surface of the sea imbued with nostalgic longing. He truly loved the sea. These
motifs were usually painted on summer holidays with his family, where his
everyday worries could be left aside. Other motifs, including those from
Hrastovlje, are also filled with a sense of serenity, optimism and
tranquillity.
Miha Pirnat is better known as a restorer than a
painter, as he was one of the pioneers of organised restoration activities in
Slovenia.He devoted most of his professional work to the restoration of
paintings, with interventions on both wall paintings and easel paintings. He
was involved in restoration work on a number of important Slovene cultural
monuments. Moreover, he was appointed to undertake restoration work in other
parts of former Yugoslavia. His eagerness to gain more experience and knowledge
took him across the borders of Slovenia to work with other experts restoring
wall paintings in Serbian and Montenegrin Orthodox churches. Demonstrating his
vast knowledge, expertise and dedication to work, he was offered an opportunity
to work in Egypt and Sudan. He joined a Yugoslav team of restorers entrusted
with the rescue operation to salvage Coptic and ancient Egyptian wall paintings
which would otherwise be lost after the completion of the Aswan Dam.
He was entrusted with the restoration of the famous
“Assunta” polyptych by Titian from the Dubrovnik Cathedral. His restoration
undertakings in Slovenia include: wall paintings in the Hrastovlje church, wall
paintings in the Lutheran Cellar in Sevnica, the ceiling of Brežice Castle,
rural churches with important Gothic paintings, sacral buildings in the
earthquake-prone zone around Kobarid, rural farmhouse frescoes and a number of
oil paintings on canvas (paintings by Metzinger and Cebej, large-scale
paintings from the Strunjan church, to mention only a few).
Author of the Exhibition and Project Leader
Miha Pirnat ml.
Preparation of Works of Art for the Exhibition
Miha Pirnat ml., Tina Buh
Exhibition Set-up
Miha Pirnat ml.
Translated by
Nataša Hirci
Catalogue and Print Design
Petra Benedik
The project was supported by