Painter Janez Vidic used many techniques in his work but he is best known for his illustrations. A somewhat overlooked but just as masterful part of his oeuvre is his numerous wall paintings, with which Vidic decorated public spaces throughout Slovenia, but particularly in Maribor and its surrounding areas.
In 1967, Vidic created a coloured scratch piece with a fantasy veduta for the then Savings Bank of Maribor. The condensed composition depicted some of the most recognizable Maribor buildings: Maribor Cathedral and Castle, the Town Hall, the Judgement and Water Towers and the stopping place on the River Drava, the Venice of Maribor. The composition also includes the local coat of arms, which he fashioned based on a signet of the 14th century for the Municipality of Maribor. Maribor was a frequent motif in his work, which he also depicted in the nearby Mladinska Knjiga bookshop, where he chose a different, more drawing-like approach.
The entire lower section of the painting, which includes depictions of the buildings on Lent by the river Drava, is covered up now, and the scratch piece in the upper left corner is barely visible due to the newly lowered ceiling. Today the premises belong to a commercial chain that does not consider the wall painting to be an important work. Because this type of attitude towards our art heritage is so prevalent, it is necessary for people to internalize their importance. Only then will the attitude towards art in public space change.
(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)
