Miha Maleš, Park Tivoli in winter, 1940

Beginning in 1934, Maleš famous series of Tivoli, the landscapes of our formerly beautiful park in Ljubljana in various seasons, are beginning to emerge. From a still ordinary motive, Maleš could extract the mood of nature. In front of us, there are trees, barely visible in a snowstorm, set on the bank, snow-covered walking paths, a solitary walker. In addition to the colour values that Tivoli motives bring to the development of Slovenian landscaping, it is necessary to emphasize the compositional balance and even the sense of the melody of the depicted trees and people.

Academic painter Miha Maleš was born on January 6, 1903 in Jeranovo near Kamnik. His work and his life today undoubtedly rank him among the main Slovenian artists of the 20th century and simultaneously with Božidar Jakac among the founders of Slovenian art graphics. He was one of the key artisans and organizers of many exhibitions. His art world is distinguished by the elegance and lightness, linearity and lyrical mood from the reality of the summarized motifs and experiences, which, especially in his youth, depicted in gentle love motives. The youthful part of the opus was marked by lyrical expressionism, and later replaced by an irreplaceable personal artistic manuscript of a calm and distinctive colour realism. In some cases, this passes into extreme simplifications and stylization, which, however, remain within the limits of a recognizable motive. In the 30s of the 20th century, his opus of black and white drawings and graphics enriched numerous colourful monotypes and paintings; when he had an atelier in Tivoli, during the Art Salon in 1930, a glittering series of portrait photographs emerged.
In 1979, he donated to the city of Kamnik 2634 his works, which was the basis for the installation and operation of the Miha Maleš Gallery, which still presents Miha Maleš, his contemporaries and the art of the 20th century. Miha Maleš died on June 24, 1987 in Ljubljana.