The Slovene painter Ivan Grohar, the most important of the Slovene Impressionists, belongs to the very top of Slovene fine art of the 20th century. He visibly influenced the development of Slovene painting when, together with other Impressionists, he broke with the realistic tradition of the 19th century and paved the way for modern art. He left us some top works related to Škofja Loka and its surroundings.
He was born into a Kajžar family in the village of Sorica, and as a child he showed a talent for artistic expression. In his youth he made a living from farming, in 1888 he studied with the painter M. Bradaška in Kranj and A. Milanesi in Zagreb, and then served in the army. In the years 1892-1895 he attended the Provincial School of Drawing in Graz. In 1896, he set up a studio in Škofja Loka and tried to make a living from church orders. Since 1995, he has lived in Munich several times, where, at the initiative of R. Jakopič, in 1899 he attended the famous painting school of Anton Ažbe.
Here he came into contact with modern European trends and met Matej Sternen and Matija Jama. In the years 1902 -1906, together with Jakopič and Sternen, he painted in the vicinity of Škofja Loka, which, thanks to the Impressionists, became “the birthplace of modern Slovenian art”.
Together with his comrades, he successfully exhibited in Belgrade, Sofia and Trieste. For many years he lived on the brink of hunger, scarcity, and exhaustion. Nevertheless, he did not lose hope for the future. He drew his inner strength from his home environment and natural beauties, the glorification of peasant work, his faith in a better future. He was broken only by an incurable disease that had been destroying his physical health and work zeal since 1908.
Important works: Pomlad - 1903 , Macesen - 1904, Škofja Loka v snegu, 1905, Kamnitnik – 1905, Sejalec – 1907, Štemarski vrt – 1907, Cvetoča jablana – 1907, Krompir – 1909, Črednik - 1910
