Hello everyone and hello for the first time to all members of the Art Talk community. I am happy to be with you today and to share my impressions about naive painting.
Some time ago I visited Kovacica, a picturesque town in Serbia, located only 40km from Belgrade. The reason for this was the famous gallery of naive art, for which this place is known all over the world. The first thing that fascinated me was that such a small village is known so far for its talented painters and priceless works of art.
When you step through the streets, you feel somehow artistic. At every step you can notice colorful paintings that attract attention and invite you to explore their meaning a little deeper.
There are several galleries in Kovacica with exhibited paintings of various motifs from everyday life.
The main gallery was created in the middle of the 20th century when local painters agreed that each year they would give one of their paintings to the gallery in order to form its fund.
One of the most famous painters is Zuzana Chalupova.
Her most famous painting is called "Playing in the snow".
She loved painting children the most, they inspired her. Painting "Spring" is very inspiring. It shows the everyday life of the village and children playing. As if we can feel their joy when we look at the picture a little longer.
Her painting called "Winter evening" is also very interesting and is full of different happenings. You can experience the atmosphere by looking at it.
Zuzana very vividly presented moments from rural reality. "Laundry"...
"Harvest"
"Joy in the grass"...
"Christmas Eve"...
Another very famous painter, besides Zuzana and one of the founders of the Kovacica Naive Art Gallery, is Martin Jonas. His paintings are also unique and recognizable. He was inspired by the difficult life of peasants who worked the land and engaged in agriculture to feed their families. He painted people with enlarged hands and feet, which symbolizes their great work and the fact that they were hardworking.
Each of the Kovacica painters had their own unique style that distinguished them from others. They all had in common that they showed the everyday life of their place and the way Slovaks lived in Kovacica during the 20th century. Slovaks in Kovacica are a very interesting and special people and they say that they are different from Slovaks from Slovakia. They have their own unique culture and way of life, and they are all united by their love for art.
The paintings of painter Jan Sokol are also interesting.
"Digging potatoes"...
"Laundry"...
I also liked Maria Varga's paintings such as "There will be little geese"...
"The joy of surprise".
There were many more pictures that impressed me.
"Love".
"A gift to mother".
"Invitation to lunch".
"Butterfly".
And many others.
We also visited another gallery nearby where we saw interesting painted items such as plates...
Benches with various motifs. The bench with different faces was especially interesting to me. In Kovacica, everyone has the name of their father or mother, so there are many people with the same name.
Sculptures and paintings of naive art.
And the painted pumpkins...
Finally, I would like to present a painting that received worldwide recognition as a masterpiece of naive art and is especially popular in Japan. It is a painting "Kovacica girl".
The picture represents the characteristics of the girl from Kovacica. The more skirts a girl had, the richer she was. Her forehead was clean, without bangs because they believed that a clean forehead symbolizes a clear mind. Rosy cheeks symbolize health, etc.
I enjoyed listening to the curator while he was presenting the colorful world of Kovacica to me. If you have read this far, thank you very much. I hope that I managed to convey a part of the beauty of the naive painting of Kovacica. It is truly worth experiencing.
The images and writing are original and mine.
Greetings!
Jelena