The painting, titled Coffee Drinker, was the work of a 26-year old woman artist named Ivana Kobilca. Now recognized as a Slovenian master, Kobilca was then a struggling artist making her way in a profession previously reserved almost exclusively for men.
For many years, Kobilca refused to sell the painting, which she considered one of her best works. In the 1930s, the Coffee Drinker was finally sold and ended up in the hands of Rado Hribar, a wealthy Slovenian industrialist and banker who owned Strmol Castle. He immediately fell in love with the painting, which reminded him of masterpieces by the Dutch masters.
Hribar didn’t enjoy his newly found acquisition for long, however. In 1944, Hribar and his wife were killed by members of the Communist intelligence service who perceived the wealthy couple as a political threat.
The painting ultimately ended up in the hands of the National Gallery. After Slovenia’s independence, Rado Hribar’s nephew Peter Hribar began legal proceedings to get the painting back. The court returned the painting to the Hribars in 2006, but curiously, the National Gallery got the right to display the painting in perpetuity. (Satisfied with the outcome, Peter Hribar put up a reproduction of the painting in his home.)
The Hribars also recently revealed an interesting story about the painting. According to the family, an envious Bosnian female artist sliced through the canvas in the 1930s, when the painting was exhibited in Sarajevo. The artist came to regret her action, and repaired the painting herself.
For decades, art experts believed that a crease on the painting was the result of the canvas being improperly bent. They have not yet been able to verify if the painting had indeed been cut.
What is certain is that the Coffee Drinker is one of the most popular works of art in Slovenia. It regularly wins public polls of the most beloved artworks and is frequently seen in advertising. But few people realize that one of the few Slovenian works of art that can be described as iconic also has a hidden – and tragic – past.
