She was born on the 5th of February in the village of Kovacica, Vojvodina region, Serbia. Her parents of Slovakian origin were poor. Her father, Martin Korenzhov, was a carpenter, and her mother was a housewife. The future painter studied 5 years at the primary school in Kovacica and showed her artistic talent even during the years of her studies.
1925 - 2002
Zuzana Chalupová
description
A Serbian artist, a famous representative of the naive art of Kovacica. Zuzana Chalupova was one of the first village women who, instead of traditional embroidery, began painting and achieved great success in this. Together with her fellow countryman and teacher Martin Jonas, she became the founder of the Gallery of Naive Art in Kovacica taken under the protection of UNESCO, where works of talented self-taught artists have been exhibited till now. The work of Zuzana Chalupova is famous not only in her motherland, but also in Germany and France; her paintings were published in famous magazines, devoted to the fine arts. Almost all paintings of the artist are devoted to children; she collaborated with The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and with The International Red Cross and created several works specifically for these organizations.
Key ideas:
– Zuzana Chalupova’s colorful paintings of naïve style resemble children’s drawings and fairytale illustrations. She always painted children, however never had her own; that is why she was called “Zuzana – a mother of thousands of children”.
– The artist created more than one thousand paintings. They mostly depict the everyday life of a Slovakian village: games of children, work in the fields, traditions and customs of simple people, and sometimes biblical stories. Her paintings reliably reflected the contemporary reality of the artist; they became a kind of document about the lifestyle, customs and traditions of the Slovak village between the two world wars. What the rural rooms and yards looked like, what tools people used, how they dressed for the holiday, how they worked, you can find out all this by looking at the paintings of Chalupova.
– Zuzana Chalupova was one of the best embroiderers and a village tapestry master. She was famous for not only reproducing traditional folk patterns, but also for her own paintings with scenes from the real life; this inspired her to paint.
– The pictorial self-expression of the self-taught artist is based solely on narration. In each of her paintings, she tried to tell a story or represent a real life event with the help of multiple figures in motion. The action often takes place in rural interiors, in yards and in the streets.
– Works of the artist with their bright and pure colors radiate cheerfulness and optimism. Her characters are simple and naïve; even if adults are depicted, their faces are filled with childlike serenity and innocence. Zuzana Chalupova created her own world, in which there is no place for war, grief and disillusion. That is why her work is so unique and popular all over the world.
1925
1942
1964
1968
1973
1974
1978
2001
The birth of the artist
Married Adam Chalupov
Married Adam Chalupov. The family was engaged in viticulture and agriculture, had an apiary. Zuzana actively created embroideries and was engaged in weaving; she was an unsurpassed weaving master, famous around the whole village. Her first painting was flowers that the artist painted on the wall of her house in 1948.
In June, she created her first oil and watercolor paintings
Sold a few tapestries; bought paints, brushes and canvases for the money she received. In June, she created her first oil and watercolor paintings; in July, the Slovakian newspaper «Hlas zudu» published an article about her as a new naive artist from Kovacica. Most of Chalupova’s first works were quickly sold. Thanks to her friendship with Bronislav Grubak, a retired professor at the Academy of Belgrade, who highly appreciated her talent and helped the artist to show her works to as many people as possible, Chalupova’s paintings became known not only in Serbia, but also abroad.
Her first solo exhibition was held in Dubrovnik
Her first solo exhibition was held in Dubrovnik. The very next year that artist’s paintings were noticed in France and Germany. Reproductions of her paintings appeared in magazines devoted to art, “Contemporary Journal” and “Figaro”; the German House issued a book with her paintings. Chalupova participated in many exhibitions in Zurich, New York, London and Vienna.
During that period, her recognizable bright style was formed
The artist drew a lot. During that period, her recognizable bright style was formed. Her paintings show the everyday life of the Slovakian village: playing children, work in the field, traditions and customs of ordinary people, sometimes biblical stories.
The artist began a close collaboration with UNICEF, UNESCO and the Red Cross
The artist began a close collaboration with UNICEF, UNESCO and the Red Cross. She donated a large number of her works to the charity fund and created a few works specially for these organizations. The largest was her painting “Children of the United Nations”, which depicts a large number of children’s figures in national costumes, many angels and birds with olive branches. The center of the composition is the globe. In the same year, Unicef used Chalupova’s painting “Winter” for New Year’s greeting cards, which were printed in two million copies.
Created a symbolical composition for the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia
Created a symbolical composition for the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia. She depicted the monastery Gracanica surrounded by cheerful children in Serbian costumes, several priests, icons, and roadside monuments. God in the sky looks at this pacifying scene.
The artist died
The artist died on August 1 in Belgrade. Until her death, she drew a lot and was engaged in charity. Zuzana Chalupova was buried in her native village of Kovacica.