Born in Zagorica in the Dolenjska region, France Kralj spent his childhood in a rural setting. His studies then took him first to Vienna and then Prague. Upon his return to Slovenia he moved to Ljubljana, where he started a family in the 1920s.

Kralj’s painting Town and Country Children (Portraits of the Children of the Artist’s Family), one of his works with a typical rural and familial theme, features his own children – daughter Milica and son Zlatko – along with their cousins. The artist depicted five children, whom he also named with inscriptions, placing them in front of the family home, where he himself had spent his early years.

In stark contrast to the theme of children indicated by the title, the depictions of the country girls come as a surprise. With wrinkled faces and haggard expressions, they appear far too old for their children’s bodies. These are children painted as adults, silently fixing the viewers with somber eyes. Their hunched postures, threadbare clothes, and bare feet or worn-out shoes testify to a childhood that was anything but carefree. Working in the fields and caring for younger siblings were their daily chores, an experience that Kralj also described in his autobiography Moja pot (My Way).

The unequal social status of the children is further highlighted by the contrast between the artist’s children and their cousins. Dressed in new clothes, Zlatko and Milica look younger and less tired, and are clearly allowed to be just children. Thus instead of having to work in the fields they are free to play and pursue creative interests, as symbolized by the sketchbook held by Milica.