Mihael Stroj - Judita s Holofernovo glavo

Michael Stroy (Slovenized: ''Mihael Stroj'', 30 September 1803 in

Ljubno Ljubno ob Savinji (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 4: ''Štajersko''. 1904. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 44.) is the largest settlement and the centre of the Municipality of Ljubno on ...

– 19 December 1871 in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

painter of Slovenian origin.

Life

Michael Stroy was born the fifth of eight children to Anton Stroy and his wife Maria, née Kokail. He spent his childhood in

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( ; ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The largest town in the region is Kranj, and other urban centers include Kamnik, Jesenice, Jesenice, Jesenice, Domžale and ...

. In 1812, his mother died of exhaustion. Shortly thereafter, his father remarried, sold his property in Ljubno and moved to

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

with his family. Michael Stroy attended the ''Glavna vzorna šola'', where he completed the fourth class in 1817 with very good grades. He then joined the so-called artists' class, which he concluded in 1820 with distinction. He continued his schooling in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in 1821. The first of his works known to have survived, a sketch of a head and a self-portrait, date from this period. It is known that Stroy was still a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1825, but it is not known whether he concluded his studies there. In 1830, Stroy spent time in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, where he offered his services to the nobility and bourgeoisie as a portraitist. Because of the numerous commissions that he received, he remained in Zagreb. He lived in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

(with intermittent stays in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

) until 1842. In this period, he painted not only a large number of portraits, but also works with religious content, including altar pictures for churches in Vugrovec and

Nova Rača Nova Rača (historically ''Racha'' and ''Ratcha,'' old Hungarian language, Hungarian name ''Racsa'' ), often shortened as just Rača, is a settlement and municipality in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. Demographics According to the 2021 census, ...

. In Croatia, Stroy was exposed to the ideas of Illyrism and associated with members of the Illyrian movement, including Stanko Vraz, Djuro Jelačić, the Ožegović family and others. In 1841, Stroy married Margareta Berghaus, which whom he had five daughters. The following year, he returned to Ljubljana, where he continued to paint portraits of important members of the local bourgeoisie, although he also received further commissions from Croatia. He died in his house in Ljubljana after suffering multiple heart attacks. Stroy used his baptismal name, ''Michael Stroy'', throughout his life, and it is also the name entered in his death record. The Slovenized spelling ''Mihael Stroj'' first appeared about a decade after the artist's death.

Work

Michael Stroy was one of the most prominent

n painters of the 19th century. His art reflects the

Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

and the

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

of his day, but the influence of the

Biedermeier The Biedermeier period was an era in Central European art and culture between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle classes grew in number and artists began producing works appealing to their sensibilities. The period began with the end of th ...

style is also visible. Most of his works are

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

s, which he signed ''Stroy''. Portraits of rich members of the bourgeoisie in Ljubljana and in Zagreb made up the majority of his work, although he also painted religious motives,

genre works Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...

and historical themes. Some of his paintings are listed below.

Portraits

*J. Martinčič (1830) *Djuro Jelačić (1832) *Karlo Jelačić (1834) *Stjepan Ožegović (1837) *Julijana Gaj (1838) *Mož z rdečo ovratnico (1840) *Stanko Vraz (1841) *Dr. Blaž Crobath (1842) *Mihael Ambrož (1850) * Luiza Pesjakova (around 1855) *Škof Anton Alojzij Wolf (1857) *Ljubljanska meščanka (1858) *Škof Mirko Karlo Raffay (around 1830) *Škof Juraj Haulik (1840)

Genre and historical works

*Izpad iz trdnjave Siget (1820s) *V kovačnici (1838) *Historični prizor (?) *Vilinski ples (?) *Orientalka (?)

Religious works

*Božja skrb (1842) *Marija pomagaj (?) *Marija z Jezusom na prestolu (1857) *Sv. Florijan (around 1855) *Sv. Anton Puščavnik (1863)

Paintings

File:Mihael Stroj - Azija.png, Azija File:Mihael Stroj - Portret Luize Pesjak.jpg, Portrait of Luiza Pesjak II File:Mihael Stroj - Mož z rdečo pentljo.jpg, Portrait of a man File:Blaž Crobath.jpg, Portrait of Blaž Crobath, c. 1842 File:Mihael Stroj - Kristofor Stanković.jpg, Kristofor Stanković File:Mihael Stroj - Portret Therese Proch.jpg, Therese Proch File:Mihael Stroj - Evropa.jpg, Europa

References

*Mihael Stroj – 1803–1871, (retrospektivna razstava, Ljubljana, Narodna galerija, 26. marec – 16. maj 1971), Ljubljana, Narodna Galerija, 1971 *Klasicizem in romantika na Slovenskem, Ljubljana, Narodna galerija, 1954 *Stele France, Slovenski slikarji, Ljubljana, Slovenski knjižni zavod, 1949 *Komelj Milček, Obrazi – slovensko slikarstvo XIX. stoletja = Gesichter – slowenische Malerei im XIX. Jahrhundert *Komelj Milček, Božja skrb – Mihael Stroj: Božja skrb, Vzgoja, Leto 6, št. 22 (jun. 2004), str. 36. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stroy, Michael 1803 births 1871 deaths Slovene Austro-Hungarians Painters from the Austrian Empire Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Painters from Austria-Hungary 19th-century male artists People from the Municipality of Ljubno