Mihael Stroj

Mihael Stroj, also known as Michael Stroy, was born in Ljubno, in Upper Carniola, on 30 September 1803 and died in Ljubljana on 19 December 1871. He was a painter of Slovenian origin who worked within the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is regarded as one of the most prominent Slovenian painters of the nineteenth century.

After his childhood in Ljubno and his schooling in Ljubljana, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1821. In 1830 he settled in Zagreb, offering portraits to the nobility and the bourgeoisie, and he stayed there until 1842, with intermittent visits to Slovenia. In this period he painted many portraits, including those of Đuro Jelačić and Stanko Vraz, as well as religious works such as altar pictures for churches in Vugrovec and Nova Rača. In Croatia he came into contact with the Illyrian movement. His style blends elements of Classicism, Romanticism and the Biedermeier.

In 1842 he returned to Ljubljana, where he kept painting members of the local bourgeoisie until his death. His legacy rests mainly on his portraits, which document the society of Ljubljana and Zagreb in his day.