reactions from Slovenia

Reactions from Slovenia

School: School Center of Velenje Velenje

Date: 12-29-2000

Dear Lieven

Thanks for your letter. Our school is not like yours, it is a state school, for pupils who want to continue their studies at the university level. We are glad to co-operate with you. . We have found Mercator's name in the geography books and we happen to know something about Jansenius and his theological ideas, which had an impact on our religious thought too. My pupils have already prepared a few scans, mostly on your fabulous painters. In fact our pupils know a lot more about art and history than you can find in our textbooks, as we use many different sources. We shall do more after the new year holidays.

Best wishes for 2001. Yours sincerely Silva Kuzman

Date: 1-30-2001

Befor new year I promised scans from our textbooks. There are certain technical problems, though, so I will just quote where each of the personalities dealt with in our history or art lessons are to be found.

History books for classroom use:

Mercator: ZGODOVINA 2, for all secondary schools, page 157 (picture, text)

Vesalius ZGODOVINA 1, for technical schools, page 171 ( a long text)

Breughel ZGODOVINA 2, for all secondary schools page 175 (picture The Triumph of Death and Flemish Proverbs, page 164, text on page 164)

Rubens ZGODOVINA 2, page 227 (Baroque painting) page 228 - entry Peter Paul Rubens

Van Eyck ZGODOVINA 2, page 164 (text)

As the sources applied in the teaching of Arts, we use both the English version the of the book History of Art, by Jansen, New York, 6e edition, and the French book Histoire de l'Art, Peinture, Sculpure, Architecture, written by Debicki, Favre, Grunewald, Pimentel, and translated into our language by Urbanija and Zuraj under the title Zgodovina slikarske, kiparske in arhitekturne umetnosti (Modrijan, L 1998 )

The personalities dealt with within the History of Arts lessons are: Brueghel, Ensor, Memlinc, Rubens and Van Eyck.

In the book Zgodovina slikarske, kiparske in arhitekturne umetnosti we find:

Peter Paul Rubens - page 172- 173 under the heading: Art of the 15-18th centuries, the picture The Kidnapping of Leukip's daughters, with the explanation of the contents, the composition and the importance of the art of the act, with a notice underlyning Rubens's sensuality and extraordinary energy.

Victor Horta - page 232- 233, under the heading Art of the 19th century; Hotel Tassel in Brussels - three photographs of this famous hotel, designed by Horts, this famous fin de siecle architect, one of the first to use iron and plant-like lines in construction and decoration of buildings.

James Ensor, page 262, under the title Expressionist Art - just listed among other authors, such as Munch, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec,as pre-expresionists,working between1886-1900.

Jan Van Eyck, pages 92, 93,126 - he is quoted together with his brother Hubert as the people who brought about the turn from the previous tender style, prevailing in the courts and called internatinal gothic style, to a more realistic style focusing on the study of prospective end modelling of bodies by using light and transparent layers of paint onto a white basis.The picture included is Giovani Arnolfini with his consort.

So far for now. As for Bakeland - he is mentioned in the Chemistry book for primary schools. We certainly know the bakelite he invented.

I hope you will add this info to the existing "results" from Slovenia on your web site.

Best regards from Silva Kuzman, Slovenia.