(Unterzarz / Spodnja Sorica 1867-1911 Ljubljana)
Before the Wedding (Pred Poroko), signed, dated J. Grohar (18)97, oil on canvas, 81 x 41 cm, framed

Provenance:
1897 acquired by a Private Collection;
1898 Private Collection Zurich, where it was framed by W. Knoll;
European Private Collection.

Catalogued in:
Izidor Cankar, Grohar Ivan, Slovenksi biografski leksikon I, 2. zvezek, Ljubljana 1926, p. 263;
Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana, Retrospektivna Razstava, preface by Francè Stelè, November 1958, no. 74;
Fancè Stelè, Ivan Grohar, Ljubljana, Državna založba Slovenije, 1960, no. 85.

Ivan Grohar was born in Spodnja Sorica, Upper Carniola, Austria-Hungary (now Slovenia). He is considered one of the leading artists of the Slovene School along with Matija Jama, Rihard Jakopiï and Matej Sternen. Grohar began his career as painter of religious images. By the end of the 1890s, the Church became a prominent supporter of his work. His fist period is representative of the Slovenian realist movement. At the turn of the century, he took part in the first Slovene Artist’s Exhibition organised by the Slovene Artistic Association. In 1904 Grohar exhibited in the Galerie Mietke in Vienna with Slovene impressionists at the artist’s club ‘Sava’ in Ljubljana. They enjoyed great success and sold several paintings. He then exhibited extensively in Belgrade, London, Krakow, Warsaw, Trieste, Berlin and elsewhere.

The present lot is from his realist period before he embraced Impressionism by befriending and coming under the influence of Impressionist painter Rihard Jakopiï. The study of the little boy is held in the City Museum of Ljubljana and was published in the 1958 exhibition catalogue on the artist with an introduction by Dr. Francè Stelè as Deïek, 1897, no. 4. The study of the stove is also held in City Museum of Ljubljana. The kneeling girl is a stock figure, developed subsequently to fit in religious and secular compositions. Pred Poroko (Before the Wedding) celebrates the Slovenian tradition. The bride is dressed for a special occasion with bright colours and floral designs. She wears a large kerchief around the shoulders and a beautiful headdress tied around her head. A large ribbon covers the nape of her neck, and ends falling down her back. She wears an earring which was appropriate for special occasions, long and wide white sleeves with a dark wide apron. The two children and the helper are also dressed in traditional garb.