Nadežda Petrovic
Encyclopedia
Nadežda Petrović (Čačak
, Principality of Serbia, 1873 — Valjevo
, Kingdom of Serbia
, 1915) is considered the most important Serbian
female painter from the late 19th and early 20th century. She was also known as Serbia's most famous Fauvist
.
, where Nadežda finishes the Women's school of higher education in 1891. From 1892 to 1897 she studied drawing, and in 1898 she started studying art in Münich
, Germany
in the private school of Anton Ažbe
. Her first individual exhibit took place in 1900 in Belgrade. Her contributions were essential in organizing the First Yugoslav Art Exhibit, and the First Yugoslav Art Colony. Between 1901 and 1912 she exhibited her work in Ljubljana
, Paris
, Zagreb
, and Rome
. In 1912 she opened her own teaching studio and participated in the Fourth Yugoslav Art Exhibit. The studio was sadly short-lived, as Nadežda volunteered in 1914 as a nurse in World War I
. She died with many other soldiers in 1915, of typhoid fever
.
She was one of the few Serbia
n artists who worked largely in Serbia but whose work was at the level of world art of the time. She was in step with Europe
an expressionism
and started to introduce abstractions in her work. Her works are dominated by broad surfaces, and her favorite colors: warm red and the complementing green. Her work is often separated into eras according to her places of residence: the Münich period (1898–1903), the Serbian period (1903–1910), the Parisian period (1910–1912), and the War period (1912–1915). Her strength and courage in life is evident in many of her works.
Her face is featured on the 200 Serbian dinar
banknote. This is the first time a woman of prominence was featured on banknotes of Serbia.
Cacak
Čačak is a city in central Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Moravica District of Serbia. Čačak is also the main industrial, cultural and sport center of the district...
, Principality of Serbia, 1873 — Valjevo
Valjevo
Valjevo is a city and municipality located in western Serbia. It is the center of the Kolubara District, which includes five other smaller municipalities with a total population of almost 180,000 people...
, Kingdom of Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
, 1915) is considered the most important Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
female painter from the late 19th and early 20th century. She was also known as Serbia's most famous Fauvist
Fauvism
Fauvism is the style of les Fauves , a short-lived and loose group of early twentieth-century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism...
.
Biography
In 1884 her family moved from Čačak to BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, where Nadežda finishes the Women's school of higher education in 1891. From 1892 to 1897 she studied drawing, and in 1898 she started studying art in Münich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
in the private school of Anton Ažbe
Anton Ažbe
Anton Ažbe was a Slovene realist painter and teacher of painting.Ažbe, crippled since birth and orphaned at the age of 8, learned painting as an apprentice to Janez Wolf and at the Academies in Vienna and Munich. At the age of 30 Ažbe founded his own school of painting in Munich that became a...
. Her first individual exhibit took place in 1900 in Belgrade. Her contributions were essential in organizing the First Yugoslav Art Exhibit, and the First Yugoslav Art Colony. Between 1901 and 1912 she exhibited her work in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. In 1912 she opened her own teaching studio and participated in the Fourth Yugoslav Art Exhibit. The studio was sadly short-lived, as Nadežda volunteered in 1914 as a nurse in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. She died with many other soldiers in 1915, of typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
.
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n artists who worked largely in Serbia but whose work was at the level of world art of the time. She was in step with Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
and started to introduce abstractions in her work. Her works are dominated by broad surfaces, and her favorite colors: warm red and the complementing green. Her work is often separated into eras according to her places of residence: the Münich period (1898–1903), the Serbian period (1903–1910), the Parisian period (1910–1912), and the War period (1912–1915). Her strength and courage in life is evident in many of her works.
Her face is featured on the 200 Serbian dinar
Serbian dinar
The dinar is the currency of Serbia. An earlier currency also called dinar was used in Serbia between 1868 and 1918. The earliest use of the dinar date to 1214. Today's Serbian dinar is a continuation of the last Yugoslav dinar...
banknote. This is the first time a woman of prominence was featured on banknotes of Serbia.