Stupica was born on 21 March 1913 in Dražgoše and died on 19 December 1990 in Ljubljana. After attending the IInd Vocational Grammar School in Ljubljana, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb: two years of drawing (1931-1933, under Professors M. Vanka, J. Kljakovič, O. Mujadžič), followed by painting (from autumn 1933 to May 1937, under Prof. L. Babić). His art was influenced by his visit to an exhibition of works by Titian in Venice (1937) and an exhibition of masterpieces from Madris's Prado Museum in Geneva (1939). After World War II, he travelled to Paris twice (1950 and 1955) and regularly attended the Venice Biennial, where his works were included in the Yugoslav selection of art in 1952 and 1958. In 1968 his work was exhibited at a special exhibition mounted within the framework of the Venice Biennial, drawing the attention of international critical circles. He also exhibited at the Kassel Documenta in 1957. In 1946 he moved from Zagreb to Ljubljana, where he became full professor of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, which had just been established (retiring in 1977). He was a member of Group 69 (Grupa 69). As a distinguished Yugoslav artist he received numerous awards, among these the Prešeren Award on several occasions (1948, 1950, 1957 and 1981 for Life Achievements), the Jakopič Award (1970) and the AVNOJ Award (1977). He was a correspondent member of the Yugoslav Academy of Science and Art (from 1966 on), the Serbian Academy of Science and Art (from 1978 on) and the Slovene Academy of Science and Art (from 1977 on, becoming a full member in 1983). His ouevre encompasses paintings (numerous self-portraits, portraits, motifs from his intimate life, the symbols of which he arranged on monochromatic canvases), drawings, gouaches, water colours and graphic prints. Thirteen of his paintings are kept in the Kunsthalle collection in Nürnberg.
