The exhibition presents part of the rich photographic legacy of master brushmaker and photographer Peter Naglič (1883–1959) from Šmarca near Kamnik, who, as a self-taught artist working with his camera in the interwar period, mastered the basics of the newly emerging style of reportage photography.

He used photography to record everything that caught the attention of his inquisitive spirit and to document in detail all spheres of human life, from the personal events of an individual to religious, social and community life in the immediate and wider community. Elements of reportage photography can be seen in his photographs of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1910, events during the First World War at Ljubljana Castle, the Eucharistic Congress in Ljubljana in 1935, the excavation of a mammoth in Nevlje in 1938, and the reconstruction of Ljubljana in the 1930s, among other events.

Another special feature of the exhibition is the creation of the feature film of the same name by the director and screenwriter Miha Čelar. The final sequences of the film were shot at the opening of the exhibition, and the film will premiere in August 2026, when the exhibition will no longer be on display. Jože Suhadolnik also presented his view of Naglič’s legacy. Using classic analogue photography, he recreated five of the author’s motifs and presented them in a modern interpretation. 

The exhibition is also special because it rounds off the long-standing successful collaboration between the Slovene Ethnographic Museum and Matjaž Šporar, Naglič’s grandson and custodian of his legacy. At the same time, this occasion marks the official transfer of the valuable photographic collection into the permanent care and custody of the Slovene Ethnographic Museum.

The photographic exhibition THE PHOTOGRAPHER: The photographic heritage of Peter Naglič was prepared by the Slovene Ethnographic Museum, represented by director Blaž Verbič, in cooperation with Astral Film, represented by director Miha Čelar.
Authors of the exhibition: Barbara Čeferin, Miha Čelar, Jože Suhadolnik, Miha Špiček
Professional associate: Matjaž Šporar
Photographs: Peter Naglič, Jože Suhadolnik
Darkroom printing: Peter Fettich, Jože Suhadolnik
Exhibition coordination: Maja Kocjan, mag. Maja Kostric Grubišić, Miha Špiček
Proofreading: Živa M. Brecelj
Translation: Romana Mlačak
Graphic design: Maja Kocjan
Communications: mag. Maja Kostric Grubišić, Živa M. Brecelj
Technical support: Urban Grčar, Franci Kokalj, Boštjan Marolt
Ljubljana, March 2026