WALL PAINTING IN THE WAITING ROOM OF DEPARTMENT OF...
WALL PAINTING IN THE WAITING ROOM OF DEPARTMENT OF PULMONARY DISEASES
The academically-trained artist Janez Vidic, best known for his illustrations, decorated many Maribor buildings with wall paintings. In 1955, Vidic and his wife Ida finished the scratch piece in the Maribor hospital unit at Slivniško Pohorje, in the department dedicated to the partisan doctor Dušan Mravlje.
The piece depicts the national liberation struggle, but does not portray a particular event. The depiction of a wounded man is directly related to the purpose of the space that houses the mural. The motif can also be linked to the partisan hospital Jesen, which was active during World War II not far from the location of today’s hospital.
Vidic’s approach to the motif most likely stems from his own experience with the partisans. The work portrays camaraderie or brotherhood, which is expressed through the aid given to the wounded man, the consolation of the desperate wife and the offering of a loaf of bread. The artist achieved a monochrome effect through the use of various shades of brown, while the design is reminiscent of his partisan graphics created for posters and propaganda leaflets. The composition does not depict the people of that time. Vidic designed the figures with very few portrait characteristics and in a highly idealized manner; they stand upright, appear physically fit, without wounds and with clothes intact. In his partisan era artwork, he particularly emphasized the heroic figure type.
(Nike Duh, in the framework of the Creative Path to Knowledge project, Virtual guide; The investment is co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union from the European Social Fund)
