Nikola Martinoski (1903–1973) was a prominent Macedonian painter known for his significant contributions to the development of modern art in North Macedonia. His work indeed reflects the influence of various European art movements, particularly Cubism and Surrealism.
Cubism Influence: Martinoski’s engagement with Cubism is evident in his exploration of form and space. Cubism, pioneered by artists like Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, revolutionized traditional notions of perspective and representation. Martinoski’s paintings often exhibit fragmented forms, geometric shapes, and multiple viewpoints characteristic of Cubist aesthetics. His compositions frequently depict figures and landscapes deconstructed into angular facets, conveying a sense of dynamism and complexity.
Surrealist Influence: Surrealism, spearheaded by artists such as Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, emphasized the subconscious mind and the irrational. Martinoski’s work reflects Surrealist tendencies through dreamlike imagery, symbolic motifs, and fantastical elements. His paintings often feature surreal juxtapositions and enigmatic symbolism, inviting viewers to interpret their meanings subjectively. Martinoski’s use of symbolism and metaphor aligns with Surrealism’s exploration of the unconscious and the mysterious aspects of human experience.
Martinoski was a Macedonian artist and academic and he is one of the most important people for the development of the Macedonian culture in the 20th century. Martinoski graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest, Romania in as the best student for that year.
Nikola Martinoski started his primary education in an Aromanian school in Skopje. He attended a Serbian and Bulgarian school where he showed interest for drawing together with the icon-painter Dimitat Andonov where both of them acquired knowledge about icon painting and illustration.
After the death of his father Kosta Martinoski, he was not in a good financial situation, but he still succeeded to continue his education in Bucharest, from 1920 – 1927, where he attended the Academy of Fine Arts. He attended courses about drawing, decorative art and sculpture. At the end of his studies, Martinoski was awarded the first prize for painting of his generation.
After his studies, he stayed a short time in Skopje where he took part in the city’s artistic life. He was a freelance art director in the Theatre of Skopje for a season and wrote e few articles on the artistic life. He kept company with some exceptional people from the cultural life of Skopje who followed his career.
Nikola Martinoski showed interest in drawing during his first school years in Skopje. He learned a lot in the workshop of the icon-painter Dimitar Andonov Papradishki. Martinoski created his first works until 1920, mainly with motives borrowed from colored postcards.
In Bucharest, in the Academy of Fine Arts, Martinoski gained full professional education. He met with the Romanian Art at that time which was under the influence of certain tendencies towards the expressionism. Martinoski created some of his works which are important for his development as an artist during these school years. He started with embellished portraits, but finished with characters that were made with consistent artistic expressions (“A Portrait of a Romanian Gipsy”, “A Head of a Child”, 1926).
Martinoski was awarded the first prize for painting at the very end of his studies for the painting “A Female’s Nude” influenced by Camille Resul. This work has a reliable and solid drawing with deepened, slightly graded dark ochre colors (1927).
His stay in Paris is of significant importance for the development of his career. At that time, a range of modern art movements were developed. Their influence and the presence of many foreign artists contributed to the emergence of the so-called the School of Paris. Matinoski (just like Lichenoski) took part in the exhibition of Yugoslav artists in Paris, in 1928 with two landscapes that are not famous today. Here, he created other paintings with elements taken from Parisian examples: “Bust of a Woman (1928)”, “Female’s Nude with a Hat” and “A Lady with a Cat”, then “The Chess players” that belongs to the post cubic expressionism: the male figures are massive with square shapes and expressive forms of the bodies and heads. Through these paintings and many others, Nikola Martinoski paid tribute to the legacy of European artists such as Picasso and the Surrealists, while also forging his own distinctive artistic vision that reflects the cultural richness of North Macedonia.
