The renewal of Slovene sculpture begun with Alojz Gangl (1859–1935) who created sculptures for the public monuments of the Carniolan polymath Johann Weikhard von Valvasor and Valentin Vodnik, the first Slovene poet and journalist, as well as ''The Genius of the Theatre'' and other statues for the Slovenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre building. The development of sculpture after World War II was led by a number of artists, including brothers Boris and Zdenko Kalin, Jakob Savinšek stayed with figural art. Younger sculptors, for example Janez Boljka, Drago Tršar and particularly Slavko Tihec, moved towards abstract forms. Jakov Brdar and Mirsad Begić returned to human figures.