The opus of Ljutomer’s native painter Roman Fekonja (1868–1910) in the light of newspaper articles and other sources

Abstract

As a student of Heinrich Schwach (1829–1902), Ljutomer’s native painter Roman Fekonja (1868–1910) was a representative of Realism, the most prolific as a portrait painter. He belongs to the group of forgotten Styrian visual artists. After completing his education at the Provincial Academy of Drawing in Graz, he set out for the United States of America in 1892 but returned to his native town of Ljutomer in 1896. Later (1901), he travelled to New York again and married Josipina Kleinlercher from Domžale. In 1909, the couple visited their former homeland, after which Josipina refused to go back to New York with him. Consumed by loneliness, Fekonja took his own life in 1910.