The National Gallery of Slovenia's continuing purpose is to showcase the best of Slovenian art and to be a place where visitors can experience beauty. Due to new economic realities, public funds cannot sustain the entirety of our mission, i.e. to collect, preserve, study, and present Slovenian cultural heritage to the public. The Gallery have been working for some time to acquire Washerwomen by Ljubljanica by Jožef Petkovšek.
Petkovšek placed the motif of domestic errands near the edge of Kotnik's estate in Verd, where one can still find the remains of the park, sloping down towards Ljubljanica. The painting was recently restored and is characterized by intensive colours and cooler green-blue palette, typical for the French painting school.
Since we are unable to fund the acquisition ourselves, we appeal to the broader, civic-minded public for help. If you wish, you can donate to our account no. 01100-6030377028 at the Public Payments Administration of the Republic of Slovenia with payment purpose "PERICE".
We are glad to answer your questions regarding the appeal.
Contact us at T: (01)24 15 400, E: info@ng-slo.si
"In the evolution of Slovenian art, the painting Washewomen by Ljubljanica stands apart from the rest of Petkovšek's oeuvre. Not only is the motif exceptional and original, the realist genre before us does not elevate the status of peasant work and is not confined to the higher calling and ideological undertones that usually mark the relations between the peasants and the land."
Dr Andrej Smrekar, museum councillor, National Gallery of Slovenia
"With other Petkovšek's works, we sense a certain design flaw, a formally unfinished scene. Washerwomen, however, are executed in perfect harmony in terms of figure, composition, colour, and perspective."
Dr Ferdinand Šerbelj, museum councillor, National Gallery of Slovenia
To know more about the life and work of Jožef Petkovšek, follow (in Slovenian):
Kač, M., Narodna galerija išče dobrotnika, ki bi pomagal pri odkupu Peric, MMC RTVSLO
http://www.rtvslo.si/kultura/razstave/narodna-galerija-isce-dobrotnika-ki-bi-pomagal-pri-odkupu-peric/370571
Štravs, S., Slovenski Van Gogh, Delo
http://www.delo.si/arhiv/slovenski-van-gogh.html