Prof. Matej Klemenčič

Matej Klemenčič received his Ph.D. in Art History at the University of Ljubljana (2000), where he has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Early Modern art since 2001. He chaired the Department of Art History for three terms (2008–2012, 2021−2022) and was appointed full professor in 2014. From 2007 to 2012 he was also the chair of the Slovenian Association of Art Historians. During his doctoral studies he was a fellow of the Roberto Longhi Foundation in Florence in 1998/99 and a resident scholar at the Bogliasco Foundation in 2000. Later short-term research visits include Italy, Austria, Germany, United States and Croatia.

Prof. Klemenčič has been collaborating with Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia for more than a decade and was appointed chair of its expert council in 2015. In Ljubljana he organized several national and international symposia and has been chairing conferences on architectural history since 2007. He curated three exhibitions for the National Gallery of Slovenia (on sculptor Francesco Robba in 1998 and 2010 and on Almanach and painting in the second half of the 17th century in Carniola in 2005). In 2016 he founded (and chaired for the first two terms) the International Center for Comparative Historical Studies (ICCHS) at the Faculty of Arts.

Prof. Klemenčič published and lectured extensively on various aspects of Baroque art and architecture in Central Europe, Venice, and the Veneto, with particular emphasis on Venetian sculptors of the 17th and 18th centuries. His other research interests include Late Gothic architecture in Central Europe and the historiography of art history and architectural history. For his research work he has received four national biennial awards of the Slovenian Association of Art Historians: for the project Almanach in 2007; for the monograph on Francesco Robba in 2015; the latter was also mentioned among the outstanding research achievements in humanities in Slovenia for 2013; as one of the contributors to the monograph on Križanke, the church of the Teutonic Order in Ljubljana, in 2019; and – with Enrico Lucchese – as the editor of the volume Patrons, intermediaries, Venetian artists in Vienna & imperial domains (1650-1750) in 2023).

Selected publications:

See also academia.edu and COBISS for the full bibliography.

Books

Beneško baročno kiparstvo v Ljubljani [Venetian Baroque sculpture in Ljubljana], Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani, 2013.
Francesco Robba (1698–1757): beneški kipar in arhitekt v baročni Ljubljani [Francesco Robba (1698–1757): Venetian Sculptor and Architect in Baroque Ljubljana], Maribor: Umetniški kabinet Primož Premzl, 2013. 311 pp.
Robbov vodnjak: zgodba mestnega simbola [Robba’s Fountain: story of a city’s symbol] (exhibition catalogue, Ljubljana, National Gallery of Slovenia, 8 February – 2 May 2010), Ljubljana: National Gallery of Slovenia 2010, 184 pp. (Knjižnica Narodne galerije, Predstavitve).
Francesco Robba in beneško baročno kiparstvo v Ljubljani [Francesco Robba and the Venetian Baroque Sculpture in Ljubljana], Ljubljana: Rokus 1998; 95 pp.
(with Stanko Kokole) Francesco Robba in beneško baročno kiparstvo v Ljubljani / Francesco Robba and the Highlights of the Venetian Baroque Sculpture in Ljubljana, Ljubljana: National Gallery of Slovenia 1998 (Knjižnica Narodne galerije. Predstavitve, 6), 46 pp.

Edited books

Patrons, intermediaries, Venetian artists in Vienna & Imperial Domains (1650-1750), Firenze: Leonardo Libri 2022, 500 pp. (co-editor, with Enrico Lucchese)
Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, Zagreb – Ljubljana – München 2019 (co-editor, with Katra Meke and Ksenija Škarić)
Artists and migration 1400–1850. Britain, Europe and beyond, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017, 209 pp. (co-editor, with Kathrin Wagner and Jessica David).
Arhitekturna zgodovina [Architectural History], Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete: Zavod za gradbeništvo Slovenije, 2008 [2011] (co-editor, with Renata Novak Klemenčič, Martina Malešič)
Acta historiae artis Slovenica, 2006 (co-editor, with Barbara Murovec) [a special issue of the periodical, dedicated to the the Almanach project]
Almanach and painting in the second half of the 17th century in Carniola, Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU 2006, 351 pp. (co-editor, with Barbara Murovec, Mateja Breščak)
Almanach in slikarstvo druge polovice 17. stoletja na Kranjskem, Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU 2005, 331 pp. (co-editor, with Barbara Murovec, Mateja Breščak)
Francesco Robba and the Venetian Sculpture of the Eighteenth Century. Papers from an International Symposium Ljubljana, 16th-18th October 1998, J. Höfler & al. ed., Ljubljana: Rokus 2000, 248 pp. (co-editor, with Janez Höfler, Nataša Golob, Samo Štefanac)

Articles / Book Chapters / Catalogue Entries

Venetian Sculptors, Patrons and Intermediaries in Habsburg Lands in the 18th Century: The Case of Francesco Robba, Patrons, intermediaries, Venetian artists in Vienna & imperial domains (1650-1750) (edd. Enrico Lucchese, Matej Klemenčič), Firenze: Leonardo Libri 2022, pp. 253–266, 310–315.
“Turning point”: succession of sculpture workshops - legal issues, archival sources and connoisseurship, Scultura lignea barocca di scuola tedesca tra Friuli, Carinzia, Stiria e Carniola, Udine: Forum 2021, pp. 79–98.
Between Graz and Venice: sculptors, stonemasons, and Jesuits in the 1730s, Wie südost-europäisch ist Graz?: 50 Jahre Südosteuropäische Geschichte und 150 Jahre Slawistik an der Universität Graz, Graz: Leykam 2021, pp. 125–138.
Podoba baročne Ljubljane v umetnostni zgodovini [= The lmage of the Baroque Ljubljana in Art History], Knjiga. Znanje. Razum. Od protestantizma do razsvetljenstva (1500-1800), Ljubljana 2021, pp. 258-278.
Bergantov budimpeštanski portret ljubljanskega trgovca [A Portrait of a Merchant from Ljubljana by Fortunat Bergant in Budapest], Zbornik za umetnostno zgodovino, n. s. LIV, 2018 [2020], pp. 119–131.
Venetian Early Modern Single-Leaf prints after Contemporary Sculpture: Questions of Form and Function, Works of Art on Parchment and Paper. Interdisciplinary Approaches (edd. Nataša Golob, Jedert Vodopivec Tomažič), Ljubljana 2019, pp. 103–111.

(with Julia Strobl and Ingeborg Schemper-Sparholz), Between Academic Art and Guild Traditions, Tracing the Art of the Straub Family (edd. Matej Klemenčič, Katra Meke and Ksenija Škarić), Zagreb – Ljubljana – München 2019, pp. 19–27.
(with Katra Meke) Tri dunajske slike za križniško cerkev v Ljubljani (Johann Michael Rottmayr, Anton Schoonjans in Martino Altomonte), Križanke (ed. Luka Vidmar), Ljubljana 2018, pp. 148–178.
Oltarji križniške cerkve v Ljubljani: sodelovanje Marca Prodija in Antonia Beduzzija? [The altars of the Church of the Teutonic Order in Ljubljana: a result of a collaboration between Marco Prodi and Antonio Beduzzi?], Zbornik za umetnostno zgodovino, n. v. LIII, 2017, pp. 83−96.
(with Enrico Lucchese and Ferdinand Šerbelj) Pietà Antonija Belluccija za Schellenburgov Križev oltar pri ljubljanskih frančiškanih [Antonio Bellucci‘s Pietà for Jakob Schell von Schellenburg‘s Altar of the Holy Cross in the Former Franciscan Church in Ljubljana], Zbornik za umetnostno zgodovino, n. v. LII, 2016, pp. 119–146
Tri nove atribucije Valentinu Metzingerju v Celju in Ljubljani [Three New Attributions to Valentin Metzinger in Celje and Ljubljana], Litterae pictae: scripta varia in honorem Nataša Golob septuagesimum annum feliciter complentis (edd. Tine Germ, Nataša Kavčič), Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani 2017, pp. 145–152.
Antonio Corradini, Collegio dei scultori, and Neo-Cinquecentismo in Venice around 1720, The Enduring Legacy of the Venetian Renaissance (ed. Andaleeb Banta), Farnham: Ashgate, 2016, 103–119.
"In partenza per lo Stato Imperiale": venezianische Bildhauer und die österreichischen Länder in der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts, Barockberichte, 61, 2013, pp. 59–73.
Le opere di Giovanni Bonazza a Santa Maria dei Servi, La Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Servi in Padova: archeologia, storia, arte, architettura e restauri (ed. Girolamo Zampieri), Roma: "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 2012 (Le chiese monumentali padovane, 4), pp. 223–234
Cerkev in njena usoda v obdobju baroka [The Church in the Baroque Period], Marija Zavetnica na Ptujski Gori: zgodovina in umetnostna zapuščina romarske cerkve [Our Lady of Protection at Ptujska Gora: History and Artistic Legacy of a Pilgrimage Church] (ed. Janez Höfler), Maribor: Umetniški kabinet Primož Premzl, 2011, pp. 173–201.
Nekaj novosti o delu beneškega baročnega kiparja Jacopa Contierija (in notica o Francescu Cabianci) [Some New Information about the Work of the Venetian Baroque Sculptor Jacopo Contieri (and a Note on Francesco Cabianca)], Acta historiae artis Slovenica, XV, 2010, pp. 39–50
Scultura barocca in Istria tra Venezia, Gorizia, Lubiana e Fiume, Saggi e memorie di storia dell'arte, 30, 2006 [2008], pp. 251–288
(with Renata Novak Klemenčič), Franz Ignaz Flurer in slika sv. Dizme v Zagorju pri Pilštanju [Franz Ignaz Flurer and the Painting of St Dismas in Zagorje near Pilštanj], Zbornik za umetnostno zgodovino, n. s. XLIV, 2008, pp. 248–262
Matej Klemenčič, Susegana, Colle San Salvatore Castello di San Salvatore o di Collalto, Arte Veneta, 63, 2006, pp. 272–274, figg. pp. 273–276
Goriški in beneški delež pri Schoyevem velikem oltarju v graški stolnici : Pasquale Lazzarini in Giovanni Marchiori [Il contributo dei goriziani e veneziani all'altare maggiore di Johann Jakob Schoy nel Duomo di Graz: Pasquale Lazzarini e Giovanni Marchiori], Barok na Goriškem [Il Barocco nel Goriziano] (ed. Ferdinand Šerbelj), Nova Gorica: Goriški muzej, Grad Kromberk; Ljubljana: Narodna galerija 2006, pp. 293–303
Nicolò Bambini, Johann Veit Hauckh in slika sv. Ignacija Lojolskega v ljubljanski šentjakobski cerkvi [Nicolò Bambini, Johann Veit Hauckh and the Painting of St Ignatius of Loyola in the Church of St James in Ljubljana], Zbornik za umetnostno zgodovino, n. s. XLII, 2006, pp. 182–194
Die Bildhauer Straub in der österreichischen und slowenischen Steiermark, Bayern und Slowenien in Zeitalter del Barock: Architektur, Skulptur, Malerei, Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner 2006, pp. 105–113
Introductory essay Almanach, Painting in the Second Half of the 17th Century in Carniola and the State of Art Historical Research [with Barbara Murovec] and several catalogue entries in Almanach and painting in the second half of the 17th century in Carniola, Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU 2006 [revised international edition of the 2005 publication in Slovenian language]
Antonio Corradini: appunti e proposte, Artisti in viaggio 1600-1750. Presenze foreste in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Udine 2005, pp. 289–304
Oltarji Robbove delavnice v Slavini in okolici, Slavenski zbornik (Janko Boštjančič ed.), Vrhnika: Galerija 2, 2005, pp. 103–122
(with Helena Seražin) I contratti di garzonato degli scultori, lapicidi e intagliatori veneziani (III), Acta historiae artis Slovenica, 9, 2004, pp. 185–204
Nicola Grassi in izgubljene slike z gradu Mirna [Nicola Grassi e le opere perdute del castello di Mirna], Acta historiae artis Slovenica, 9, 2004, pp. 71–85
(with Helena Seražin) I contratti di garzonato degli scultori, lapicidi e intagliatori veneziani (II), Acta historiae artis Slovenica, 8, 2003, pp. 193–210
Sv. Janez Nepomuk Francesca Robbe in praški spomenik Antonia Corradinija [San Giovanni Nepomuceno di Francesco Robba e una nota per il monumento di Antonio Corradini a Praga], Zbornik za umetnostno zgodovino, n. s. XXXVIII, 2002, pp. 125–151.
(with Helena Seražin) I contratti di garzonato degli scultori, lapicidi e intagliatori veneziani (I), Acta historiae artis Slovenica, 7, 2002, pp. 167–187.
Pozabljeni Fontebasso iz Škofje Loke [Il dimenticato Fontebasso a Škofja Loka], Zbornik za umetnostno zgodovino, n. s. XXXVII, 2001, pp. 104–113.
Appunti sul neo-cinquecentismo nella scultura veneziana del Settecento, Alessandro Vittoria e l’arte veneta della Maniera, Udine: Forum 2001, pp. 229–242.
Nuovi contributi all’opera dei fratelli Paolo e Giuseppe Groppelli, Francesco Robba and the Venetian Sculpture of the Eighteenth Century. Papers from an International Symposium Ljubljana, 16th-18th October 1998, J. Höfler & al. ed., Ljubljana: Rokus 2000, pp. 109–124.
several biographies in La scultura a Venezia dal Sansovino a Canova, Andrea Bacchi, Susanna Zanuso edd., Milano: Longanesi 2000.
Od Enrica Merenga do Paola Callala: problem avtorstva kipov na oltarjih ljubljanskih kamnoseških delavnic okrog leta 1700 [From Enrico Merengo to Paolo Callalo: Attribution of Sculptures on Altarpieces by Ljubljana Stonecutting Workshops from around 1700], Zbornik za umetnostno zgodovino, n. s. XXXVI, 2000, pp. 193–211.
Giovanni Marchiori v Rovinju [Giovanni Marchiori a Rovigno], Acta historiae artis Slovenica, 2, 1997, pp. 97–108.
Župnijska cerkev v Konjicah in gradbena dejavnost Valentina Fabrija - Die Pfarrkirche von Konjice und die Bautätigkeit des Valentin Fabri, Gotika v Sloveniji. Nastajanje kulturnega prostora med Alpami, Panonijo in Jadranom - Gotik in Slowenien. Vom Werden des Kulturraums zwischen Alpen, Pannonien und Adria - Il gotico in Slovenia. Sulla formazione dello spazio culturale tra le Alpi, la Pannonia e l’Adriatico (ed. Janez Höfler), Ljubljana: Narodna galerija 1995 [1996], 111–121, 123–129.
several catalogue entries in Gotik in Slowenien, exhibition catalogue, edited by Janez Höfler, Ljubljana: Narodna galerija 1995 [also a Slovenian edition].