Spiro Xega, activist of the national movement, fighter of the Çerçiz Topulli squad, painter, was born in Opar of Korça. He spent his childhood in his hometown. He emigrated to Turkey, where he took his first painting lessons from an iconographer and connected with patriots of the time. After returning to his homeland, he engaged in trade and simultaneously created several paintings, portraits, drawings and landscapes, mainly with patriotic motifs. One of the most important works is “Skenderbeu” (1913). More than 10 paintings with the figure of Skenderbeu are preserved from him, some of them from the beginning of the 20th century. Although a self-taught painter, Spiro Xega stands out for his meticulous details drawing. In general, his paintings are permeated by the romantic spirit. They have played a role in strengthening patriotic feelings and national pride. The best works of Spiro Xega are preserved in the art galleries in Tirana and Korçë, in the “Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu” museum in Krujë and a large part in the painter’s family in Korçë. (In the photo: Xega’s work “Skënderbeu”, 1913.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 3, Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2009, page 2934.
Photo: © https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Skanderbeg_by_Spiro_Xega.jpg
Graphic processing: AHCF
