A nativity scene is a representation of Christ's
birth and a central symbol of Christmas season. Its construction and setting up
is registered in the Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Slovenia. From
the 17th century onwards, its installation was gradually gaining ground in
churches, middle-class homes and, most recently, in peasant households. It was
only from the late 19th century onwards, and especially in the period between
the two world wars, that it could be considered a generally accepted custom.
Depending on the method of setting it up, a crib typology has developed over time.
The origin of the figures varied in the Slovenian lands: some were imports from
Tyrol, which was renowned for its crib craftsmanship, some were made by local
craftsmen, and less frequently they were made by Slovenian artists and
designers. Such art and handicraft products that were made of durable materials
were less affordable, and the makers to meet the demand were but few.
Therefore, paper figures for the scene printed on sheets were used to make the
traditional nativity scene in "God's Corner" (above the dining table),
thus becoming an inexpensive option for farmers.
Foreign nativity scene sheets, such as those
still issued today by crib museums, especially in the German region, were
widely used in Slovenia, and several local artists also painted designs for
such nativity scenes. Among them, the most extensive and well-known was the "national
nativity scene" by the painter Maksim Gaspari from 1919. A design for a
paper nativity scene was also produced by France Gorše and published as an
appendix in the Slovenčev koledar (Slovenec's Calendar) for 1942. This was
an annual calendar published in Ljubljana in 1941−1945 by the Slovenec, Slovenski dom and Domoljub
Consortium. Five issues were published, each including a calendar, various
reports, practical tips and literary excerpts. Gorše's crib design, printed on thick
paper, was added to the 1942 calendar. The Slovenian national character of
Gorše's nativity scene is particularly significant as it was published during
the occupation, when the Slovenian calendar that also included Italian national
holidays was "decorated" with images of Victor Emmanuel III, King of
Italy, and the Fascist leader Benito Mussolini.
France Gorše (1897−1986) was one of the central
Slovenian sculptors of the 20th century, who also established
himself as a graphic artist and illustrator. Born in Zamostec near Sodražica
and died in a hospital in Golnik, his life destiny and creative restlessness
took him to many places in Slovenia, abroad and even to other continents. After
graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1925 under Professor Ivan
Meštrović, he worked in Vreme, Trieste, Gorizia, Ljubljana, Cleveland, New
York, Rome and in Austrian Carinthia; his last home with a studio and gallery,
was in Sveče. Gorše created a series of monumental sculptures for public
spaces, as well as works in various dimensions and techniques, which are now
part of private and public collections; a permanent collection of his works is
in the Božidar Jakac Art Museum in Kostanjevica na Krki.
Gorše's nativity scene in Slovenec's Calendar was created during the artist's "Ljubljana
period" (1930−1945). It was printed in colour on two cardboard sheets, and
comprises twenty-one parts. The first sheet contains Mary, Joseph and Child Jesus
in the manger with an ox and a donkey, the Magi and a group of sheep in a
wooden stable with a snow-covered roof. The second sheet contains shepherds, a middle-class
couple, individual sheep or groups of sheep, an angel and the Star of Betlehem.
Gorše depicted an authentic Slovenian nativity scene: with the Magi and the
holy figures in typical oriental costumes on the one hand and on the other
hand, shepherds wear dark shorts, white shirts and hats on their heads and look
like mountaineers; the kneeling men in native peasant clothes and the standing
woman with a shawl on her head worshipping Jesus are characters of the
Slovenian countryside; the middle-class couple donned the costume of the
Gorenjska Region, the Slovenian national costume, to localize the Christmas
celebration for national identification.
When such paper nativity scenes were set up,
individual figures were cut out of the sheets and a stick was glued to the
back, which was then used to anchor the cut-out in a moss ”ground”. The whole
was placed on a triangular shelf fixed in the corner of the main room, called
"the house". That is why the composition of the nativity scene was
always central, and a piece of embroidered cloth was added as a decoration. Nativity
scene was placed in the "God's Corner", which was the symbolic house
shrine in the corner above the dining table, and was decorated throughout the
year with a carved crucifix and paintings on glass, upgraded with a nativity
scene at Christmas time. The setting of Gorše's nativity scene in the National
Gallery suggests the context. The actual crib has been copied from the original
sheets from the 1942 Slovenec’s Calendar,
and the original copy of the calendar and its Christmas attachment are added in
the exhibition.