After graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, the painter and graphic artist Ivan Kos settled in Maribor. With portraits, self-portraits, genres and landscapes in various techniques, he helped to shape the Slovenian art scene of the 20th century. Kos rendered his impressions from visits to Slovenian regions such as Podravje, Slovenske gorice, Haloze, and Prekmurje as well as to the Slovenian and Croatian coast mostly in oil, watercolour and linocut. A frequently appearing motif is the landscape surrounding Maribor, as in the case of Drava in Melje. The area in the painting is located on the eastern outskirts of Maribor, with a hill rising along the Drava Plain, and a small island dividing the Drava River. The oil technique gives the painting a polished and glossy appearance; also noticeable is a ribbed cardboard structure with unpainted indentation lines. Cool colours fill the scene with freshness and tranquillity, while the illuminated coloured surfaces and winding shapes bear witness to his adherence to the New Objectivity movement. The realistic features of the depiction are comparable to those created by Ante Trstenjak, whom Kos befriended while living in Prague. Nevertheless, in his painting, Kos followed his own credo: Do as you feel and see.
(Sara Dobrajc, in the framework of the Creative Path to Knowledge project, Virtual Legends; The investment is co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union from the European Social Fund)
