Luigi (Alois Heinrich) Kasimir se je rodil 18. aprila 1881 na Ptuju. Oče Alois Kasimir, ki se je leto pred njegovim rojstvom priženil na Ptuj, je bil knjigovez in slikar. Luigi je na Ptuju preživel le rosno mladost, saj se je družina leta 1887 preselila v Gradec, kjer je oče Alois pričakoval več slikarskih naročil (še naprej jih je dobival tudi na Ptuju), vendar je ohranjala tesne vezi s sorodniki in se v mesto in v vinograde v Halozah pogosto vračala. Luigi je po gimnaziji v Gradcu v letih 1900-1905 na Dunaju študiral slikarstvo, v letih 1906-1907 pa se je v zvezi s ponujeno službo v veliki delavnici za litografijo v Gradcu ponovno izobraževal v grafičnem zavodu na Dunaju. Izpopolnil naj bi se v litografiji, a ga je bolj pritegnila tehnika jedkanice. V tej tehniki je pričel upodabljati motive Dunaja ter gradov in dvorcev spodnje Avstrije in si kmalu ustvaril sloves med poznavalci in tržni uspeh.
Leta 1911 se je poročil z grafičarko Tanno Hoernes in se z njo naselil v Grinzingu pri Dunaju, kjer sta si uredila lastno grafično delavnico. V naslednjih letih je, najbrž tudi z ženino pomočjo, še izpopolnil zapleteno tehniko barvne jedkanice in akvatinte velikih formatov. V dolgi ustvarjalni dobi je ustvaril številne podobe avstrijskih, evropskih in tudi ameriških mest, vključno z nekaj motivi Ptuja in Haloz, Maribora, Ljubljane in nekaterih drugih mest nekdanje Jugoslavije, ki ostajajo iskane še danes in stalnica v katalogih avstrijskih, nemških in ameriških dražbenih hiš. Umrl je 5. avgusta 1962 v Grinzingu. Pri nas se je o Luigiju Kasimiru pisalo razmeroma malo, čeprav je bila njegova razstava v Ljubljani leta 1935 dobro sprejeta (ob tej priložnosti se je seznanil z Božidarjem Jakcem, ki ga je kasneje obiskal tudi na Dunaju), leta 1936 pa je obsežen zapis o njem objavil ugledni slovenski umetnostni zgodovinar France Stele. Po 2. svetovni vojni se o Luigiju in družini Kasimir ni več govorilo, v šoli nam ga (niti na Ptuju) niso omenjali, med Ptujčani pa je ostal znan in mnogi so tudi v tem času kupovali njegove jedkanice, predvsem tiste z domačimi motivi. V zadnjih 10 letih pa ga vendarle odločneje umeščajo v zgodovino slovenske likovne umetnosti. Dela tako Luigija Kasimira kot Tanne Hoernes-Kasimir so bila vključena v razstavo Narodne galerije o začetkih umetniške grafike na Slovenskem, leta 2008 pa je bila v Miheličevi galeriji v Dravskem stolpu odprta tudi stalna postavitev njegovih del iz zbirke ptujskega muzeja, kjer so na ogled vse njegove upodobitve Ptuja in Haloz. Tam si jih lahko ogledate, če ste rojeni pod srečno zvezdo in se znajdete na lokaciji ravno v času odprtja galerije in ni dan, ko iz takega ali drugačnega razloga ogled ni mogoč.
Luigi Kasimir (1881-1962)
Luigi (Alois Heinrich) Kasimir was born on 18. April 1881 in Ptuj. His father Alois Kasimir, who moved to Ptuj by marriage a year before Luigi was born, was a bookbinder and painter. Luigi only spent early childhood years in Ptuj as the family moved to Graz, where his father expected more commissions for paintings (in addition to the ones he kept receiving from Ptuj), but remained in close connection with the relatives and visited the town and vineyards in Haloze regularly. Luigi attended high school in Graz and studied painting at the Fine Arts Academy in Vienna in 1900-1905. When he was offered a position in a large lithography studio in Graz he studied graphic techniques in Vienna again in 1906-1907. He was supposed to master lithography, but was attracted by the technique of etching and produced several etchings with the subjects of Vienna and castles or manors of lower Austria that brought him critical acclaim and market success.
In 1911 he married graphic artist Tanna Hoernes and moved to Grinzing near Vienna where the couple established their own graphic studio. In the next few years he, probably with assistance of his wife, mastered the difficult technique of large size colour etching with aquatint to perfection. During his long creative career he produced many cityscapes of Austrian, European and American cities as well as etchings of Ptuj, Haloze, Maribor, Ljubljana and other cities of former Yugoslavia, that are still sought after and even today sell well in auctions in Austria, Germany and USA. He died on 5. August 1962 in Grinzing. The work of Luigi Kasimir was rarely covered in Slovene art literature even though his exhibition in Ljubljana in 1935 was well received (on that occasion he became acquainted to famous Slovene painter Božidar Jakac, who later visited him in Vienna) and an extensive article on his representations of Slovene cities was published by art historian France Stele in 1936. After the WWII Luigi and Kasimir family remained non-persons for a long time, they were not mentioned in school even in Ptuj, but he remained known among the locals and many private collectors were buying his works even during that time. In the last 10 years he is being decisively placed in Slovene art history. Both Luigi Kasimir and Tanna Hoernes-Kasimir were included in the National Gallery exhibition on beginnings of graphic art in Slovenia, and in 2008 a permanent exhibition of selection of his works from Ptuj museum collection was opened in Drava Tower in Ptuj.
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