Baroque in Slovenia: Sculpture and Painting

This is the title of an exhibition in our capital Ljubljana, more precisely at the National Gallery of Slovenia. I went there with a dear friend. And it was spectacular. I am no sculptor or painter, let alone a historian of art. So, I must warn you that the following sentences are no critique or evaluation of the exhibits. They are merely my most intimate impressions, my humble thoughts and feelings, triggered by the masterpieces on display.

First, I was thrown in a sea of baroque angels, presumably all very similar. I should have concentrated on their variety, but I have not, regrettably. It is amazing what prejudice does to you. Instead, I delved into the colors of Virgin Mary’s dress. I noticed the repetition of scarlet red, which in those days was a very expensive color. The red dress was further adorned by a heavenly blue scarf, connecting a holy person with heaven. How poetic. And there was even a painting depicting Virgin Mary’s reception in heaven.

For church paintings there was a huge amount of nudity, although of course the indecent parts were always covered by clothes. Except a breastfeeding woman showing her breasts, but that was only one case. The bodies showed a funny mixture of fat and elegant. There was no serious overweight, but only a slight plumpness. As if the cute baby fat of the angels spread to adult bodies of holy persons and saints too.

The faces of angels and holy beings were almost all alike. No chiseled chins, no strong cheek bones. All features were soft and well rounded. This style was applied also to portrays of nobility, although the most distinct individual facial features somehow seemed to stand out anyway. I remember only one portray of a common man, a so-called pretzel man, that had a sharp face.

There was a lot more church art than secular, but the latter definitely stood out. I was a little frightened when I noticed a snake crawling on a kitchen table or seeing dogs fighting with bears. And richly consoled and filled with the melody of beauty at the sight of colorful flowers in a vase.

Take care,

Helena Smole, author of:

– a fantasy novel with romance Vivvy and Izzy the Dwarf: A series about relationships

– Balancing the Beast, a book offering a bright view of schizoaffective disorder ˗ bipolar or manic-depressive type