Stanislav Ivan Rapotec (4 October 1913 – 18 November 1997) was a Slovene-Australian artist.

Early life

Stanislav Rapotec was born in 1913 in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

, at that time part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire 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#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with t ...

. In 1918 he moved with his family 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 ...

, part of the newly created

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

. He studied economics at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

from 1933 to 1939. After military training as a reserve officer, he began his career with the National Bank of Yugoslavia in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertain ...

where he also developed his skill as an artist.

World War II

Rapotec was mobilized into the Royal Yugoslav Army before the invasion of Yugoslavia by Germany and Italy on 6 April 1941. He was taken prisoner by the Germans, but subsequently escaped to Split controlled by the Italian army. He escaped to Split, where he fought for the Yugoslavian government in exile. He had also visited

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, where he met

Julian Amery Harold Julian Amery, Baron Amery of Lustleigh, (27 March 1919 – 3 September 1996) was a British Conservative Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 39 of the 42 years between 1950 and 1992. He was appointed to the P ...

of the British Special Operations Executive. In January 1942, he covertly returned to Split.

Žarko Todorović Žarko P. Todorović "Valter" (1907 Belgrade - 2004 Paris) was one of the leaders of the Chetnik resistance in the first phase of World War II in the German occupied Yugoslavia, serving as first commander of the undercover Chetnik headquarter ...

, the leader of the

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, also organized radio communication between Rapotec and

Draža Mihailović Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Дража Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Arm ...

. He spent April to June of that year in Zagreb. During this time he met with the Archbishop of Zagreb

Aloysius Stepinac Aloysius Viktor Cardinal Stepinac ( hr, Alojzije Viktor Stepinac, 8 May 1898 – 10 February 1960) was a senior-ranking Yugoslav Croat prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal, Stepinac served as Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 until his d ...

five times. Later in July, he went back to the middle eastern region. He was feared lost by the allies. He has traveled from Split to Mostar to Zagreb (where he had sheltered for 2 and a half months and met surviving Jews and Serbs) to Belgrade, and finally to Turkey.

Life as a painter

After the war, Rapotec moved to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, where he started to paint again. In 1955, he moved to Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He started using his name in an Anglicized form ( Stanislaus, or simply Stan). In 1961, he won the

Blake Prize for Religious Art The Blake Prize, formerly the Blake Prize for Religious Art, is an Australian art prize awarded for art that explores spirituality. Since the inaugural prize in 1951, the prize was awarded annually from 1951 to 2015, and since 2016 has been ...

. He was a member of the group of Sydney-based abstract artists called the Sydney 9. After his wife, Andree, had died, he traveled and painted all across Europe. He died in Sydney from a stroke in 1997.

Legacy

Stan Rapotec is famous for his art works, which are all exhibited 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 ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

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. ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. He is also known for his quote, "To become an artist, you must have a life rich with experience, a strong desire to express yourself, a will strong enough to carry out this desire, and ... talent,".The Independent
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Notes

External links

Stanislav Rapotec »Rappy«

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rapotec, Stanislav 1913 births 1997 deaths Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb alumni Slovenian people of World War II Members of the Order of Australia Artists from Ljubljana Yugoslav emigrants to Australia Australian people of Slovenian descent Blake Prize for Religious Art winners