The sculpted head by Alexander Trizuljak depicts a young woman, it is made of bronze and represents a Portrait of a Woman that was made during the artist’s social exile. The presented head is a part of the Nitra Gallery’s collection and it features elements of a civil genre style. It is obvious the artist’s intention was to incorporate his sense of space, mass and volume. Even though the static portrait is made of heavy metal materials, it feels delicate, just like a young woman does. The copper vitriol patina enhances her subtle facial features and we can also feel the softness of her hair despite “just being made of metal”. Regardless of the artwork’s small scale, master Trizuljak’s talent and aesthetic spirit are apparent at first glance.
Alexander Trizuljak [*15 May 1921, Varín (close to Žilina), + 15 October 1990, Bratislava] was an important representative of Slovak sculpture of the 20th Century.
He studied at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (under M. Schurmann and J. Kostka) and sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (under prof. K. Pokorný). Between 1949-1972 he taught at AFAD in Bratislava and “thanks to” the normalisation of society he withdrew from public life, but he did not stop creating. He returned to his intimate and sacral sculptures that are now valued as one of the best Slovak pieces of Christian art of the 20th century. His creative language gradually evolved from genre civil themes to monumental experiments with mass and space. His best known piece is the sculpture of the Victorious Soldier at Bratislava’s Slavín (1957-1960). This piece has become a landmark, a periodical symbol and it was a part of Trizuljak’s early experiments with different materials and technologies. The artist had moved from Rodin-like lyrical view of mass to realistic, symbolical and aesthetic constructivism. His choice of materials had moved from bronze to mostly aluminium. The artist’s favourite theme was man in various positions and situation (man as a hero, man as a worker, man as a child…).
Even though Alexander Trizuljak had humble origins, his talent has left a significant mark on the plastic art of the 20th century. He was a very active member of the Slovak art scene. He participated on establishing some of the regional galleries, exhibition projects and art schools. He took part at the creation of Artisanal Crafts workshops in Bratislava (that no longer exist) or the Statue of the Piešťany Parks event that started as his solo exhibition. He also initiated the creation of several sculpture symposia. The society has given up Trizuljak’s talent voluntarily, but his artistic heritage has remained present until today, whether in the form of his own artworks or the talent of his children and grandchildren that continue their beautiful family tradition…
Ľudmila Kasaj Poláčková
Inventory No.: P 361
Artist: Alexander Trizuljak
Title: Portrait of a Woman
Year: 20th century, 2nd half, 1975-1980
Technique: modelling, casting, patina
Material: metal, bronze
Dimensions: 19 × 15 × 19 cm
Signature: none