Izidor Cankar (22 April 1886 – 22 September 1958) was a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, art historian,

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

, and

liberal conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by lib ...

politician. He was one of the most important Slovenian art historians of the first part of the 20th century, and one of the most influential cultural figures in

interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

Slovenia.

Early life

Izidor Cankar was born in Šid, in what was then the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija; hu, Horvát-Szlavónország or ; de-AT, Königreich Kroatien und Slawonien) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation with ...

(now part of the

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

n province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

). His father, Andrej Cankar, was a Slovene tradesman from

Inner Carniola Inner Carniola ( sl, Notranjska; german: Innerkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the southwestern part of the larger Carniola region. It comprises the Hrušica karst plateau up to Postojna Gate, bordering the Slovenian Littoral (th ...

, while his mother, Marija Huber, was from a mixed Danube Swabian–

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

family. Izidor was a cousin of the famous writer

Ivan Cankar Ivan Cankar (, ) (10 May 1876 – 11 December 1918) was a Slovene writer, playwright, essayist, poet, and political activist. Together with Oton Župančič, Dragotin Kette, and Josip Murn, he is considered as the beginner of modernism in Sl ...

. At the age of seven, his father went bankrupt. Young Izidor was taken into foster care by his aunt Karolina Hofberg. Cankar grew up in a multicultural environment, and spoke

Croatian Croatian may refer to: * Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * S ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, and Hungarian from a young age. He attended Croatian-language schools, and throughout his life he claimed his Croatian was better than his Slovene. In 1897, his cousins

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulga ...

and Karlo Cankar convinced him to move to

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the a ...

, where he attended the Classical Lyceum.slo.slohost.net
/ref> In 1905, after finishing high school, he decided to become a priest and enrolled in the Roman Catholic seminary in Ljubljana. There, he met the theologian Andrej Kalan, who had a decisive influence on Cankar's future intellectual development. After finishing the study of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

in Ljubljana in 1909, he enrolled in the

University of Louvain A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

, where he studied esthetics. During this period, he also spent time in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. In 1910, he enrolled in the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The univers ...

, where he studied philosophy. In 1913, he obtained a PhD in art history at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich h ...

with a thesis on the Italian baroque painter Giulio Quaglio, which he wrote under the supervision of the Slovene art historian

France Stele France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The same year he returned to Ljubljana, where he became the editor of the Catholic journal ''

Dom in svet ''Dom in svet'' ("Home and World") was a Catholic cultural and literary journal published in Slovenia. History and profile ''Dom in svet'' was published from 1888 to 1943. Its long-running rivalry with the national-liberal journal ''Ljubljanski ...

'', transforming it into the most prestigious literary magazine in the

Slovene Lands The Slovene lands or Slovenian lands ( sl, Slovenske dežele or in short ) is the historical denomination for the territories in Central and Southern Europe where people primarily spoke Slovene. The Slovene lands were part of the Illyrian provi ...

. Between 1918 and 1919, he worked as the chief editor of the conservative daily '' Slovenec'', the most widespread Slovenian newspaper of the time. During the same period, he became active in the

Slovene People's Party The Slovenian People's Party ( sl, Slovenska ljudska stranka, , Slovene abbreviation SLS ) is a conservative, agrarian, Christian-democratic political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first democ ...

, taking part in the negotiations for the unification of the

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( sh, Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba / ; sl, Država Slovencev, Hrvatov in Srbov) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( ...

with the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Prin ...

. After the formation of a unified Yugoslav state, he continued his studies in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

under Max Dvořák. In 1920, he returned to Ljubljana, where he became the director of the newly established Slovenian National Gallery. In 1923, he became a professor at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

. During the same period, he decided to leave the priesthood. He did so in 1926, and married Ana Hribar, who came from a wealthy Ljubljana family. His departure from the priesthood and the Catholic Church and subsequent marriage surprised and outraged Ljubljana.''Izredna civilna poroka v Ljubljani'' Jutro. 1926. Št. 2 (18 July). S.3

/ref> In 1933, he founded the Slovenian section of the

International P.E.N. PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internationa ...

, and he served as its first president until 1935. In May 1933, during the 11th congress of the international P.E.N. Club in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...

, Cankar voted for the expulsion of pro-

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

writers from the organization, in contrast to the Croatian and Serbian representatives. At the same time, he became a close friend of the Yugoslav sculptor

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pavle Bilinić's ...

and served as the godfather of his second daughter. In the late 1930s, he convinced his wife's family to donate money for the construction of the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana, of which he served as supervisor.

Diplomatic and political career

In 1936, Cankar was named Yugoslav ambassador to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

. He was in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. In 1942, the Yugoslav government in exile named him ambassador to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. In 1944, he resigned in protest against the policies of Prime Minister Božidar Purić, who continued to support the Serbian

Chetnik The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nation ...

resistance movement of

Draža Mihajlović Draža or Draza is a given name. Those bearing it include: * Draža Mihailović Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Дража Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb ge ...

even after claims of his collaboration with the

Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

s in the fight against

Tito's Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, Slovene language, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НО� ...

. Canadian Prime Minister

Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...

offered him a post in the Canadian foreign service, but Cankar declined. After the Treaty of Vis was signed between the newly appointed Yugoslav Prime Minister in exile Ivan Šubašić and the Yugoslav communist resistance leader

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

in June 1944, Cankar was named Minister of Culture and Telecommunications in the new coalition government. However, he resigned in autumn of the same year after failing to convince the leadership of the

to recognize the Liberation Front of the Slovenian People and join forces with the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, Slovene language, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НО� ...

. In February 1945, he went to liberated Belgrade and was named ambassador to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

. In 1947, he returned to

, where he worked as a consultant for the National Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art. He was critical of the communist regime, but did not engage in any political action. In 1953, he became a member of the

Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( sl, Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti (SAZU)) is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members ...

. He died in Ljubljana in 1958, age 72, and was buried in

Žale Žale Central Cemetery ( sl, Centralno pokopališče Žale), often simply Žale, is the largest and the central cemetery in Ljubljana and Slovenia. It is located in the Bežigrad District and operated by the Žale Public Company. History The c ...

Cemetery.

Writing

In his early years, Cankar wrote several renowned essays, mostly related to esthetic issues. In 1911, he published the book ''Obiski'' (''Encounters''), a collection of interviews with contemporary Slovene authors and artists (

Rihard Jakopič Rihard Jakopič (12 April 1869 – 21 April 1943) was a Slovene painter. He was the leading Slovene Impressionist painter, patron of arts and theoretician. Together with Matej Sternen, Matija Jama and Ivan Grohar, he is considered the pion ...

, Fran Saleški Finžgar,

Ivan Tavčar Ivan Tavčar () (28 August 1851 – 19 February 1923) was a Slovenian writer, lawyer, and politician. Biography Tavčar was born into the poor peasant family of Janez and Neža née Perko in the Carniolan village of Poljane near Škofja Lok ...

Oton Župančič Oton Župančič (January 23, 1878 – June 11, 1949, pseudonym ''Gojko'') was a Slovene poet, translator, and playwright. He is regarded, alongside Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn, as the beginner of modernism in Slovene literatur ...

Franc Ksaver Meško The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...

, and others). In 1913, he wrote his only major literary work, the essayistic novel, ''S poti'' (''On the Way''), written as a travelogue through

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In 1926, Cankar published a major treatise in art history, ''Uvod v umevanje likovne umetnosti'' (''An Introduction to the Understanding of Figurative Art''), where he developed a systematic stylistic typology based on the theories of

Heinrich Wölfflin Heinrich Wölfflin (; 21 June 1864 – 19 July 1945) was a Swiss art historian, esthetician and educator, whose objective classifying principles (" painterly" vs. "linear" and the like) were influential in the development of formal analysis in ...

. In the same year, he started publishing his

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

, ''Zgodovina likovne umetnosti v zahodni Evropi'' (''History of Figurative Art in Western Europe''), in which he applied his own esthetic theory in the overview of western art between

late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...

and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

. Between 1926 and 1936, he published the first critical edition of collected works of the writer

, his cousin. In 1948, he also published Ivan Cankar's correspondence. Izidor Cankar was also a translator: among other, he translated works of

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, ...

, Patrick Augustine Sheehan,

André Maurois André Maurois (; born Émile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog; 26 July 1885 – 9 October 1967) was a French author. Biography Maurois was born on 26 July 1885 in Elbeuf and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen, both in Normandy. A member o ...

and

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aes ...

Publications

* Cankar Iz. ''S poti''. Ljubljana: Nova knjižnica / Nova založba, 1919. 3, 117 s.; ''Z cesty'' // Návštěvy. Sv. 5. Eva, 1921. 131 s. (czech); 2nd ed. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1996. 252 s. * Cankar Iz. ''Uvod v umevanje likovne umetnosti. Sistematika stila''. Izdaja 3.,. V Ljubljani: Karantanija, 1995. 185 s. * Cankar Iz. ''Obisk na Rožniku'' In: Ivan Cankar, slovenski pisatelj: (1876-1918). Ljubljana: Mestni muzej, 1956. Translations * Lewis S. Babbitt / prevedel ''Izidor Cankar''. Ljubljana : Državna založba Slovenije, 1953. 362 s. * Swift J. Guliverjeva potovanja / prevedel ''Izidor Cankar''. Ljubljana : Cankarjeva založba, 1967. 335 s.

Early life

Diplomatic and political career

Writing

Publications

See also

References

Further reading