This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nadežda Petrović. The lady whose image is on the 200 dinar banknote is known to many as a gifted painter. However, Nadežda Petrović was very versatile, so she dealt with art criticism, photography, pedagogical work, women's emancipation, but also political and national issues. She owed the Serbian people and gave her life for them. She died of typhus at the age of 42, and contracted it while working as a nurse in the war. She volunteered because she felt it was her duty. She healed many wounded, but in the end she couldn't help herself.Serbia at the beginning of the 20th century was a patriarchal society. Women's needs were minimized. The Serbian Civil Code provided for the authority of the husband over the wife. Within the framework of property law, the business incapacity of a married woman was particularly highlighted. A married woman was equal to a child. Maybe that's why it's not surprising that Nadezhda broke off her engagement and wrote in a letter to her mother that she was happy that she didn't get married.
„"I am not looking for love, a husband, a man, nor a heart and respect, I will live only for myself and my parents. (…) There is no question of my marriage anymore, I want to be a painter, not a wife (…) if you really want me to be happy, then you will also expect me to be a painter, not a matchmaker." (Munich, 1898)
Nadezhda was an important figure during the founding of the Circle of Serbian Sisters. This organization brought together women who together carried out numerous socially engaged actions. Some define this association as a humanitarian one, some emphasize a patriotic, and some a feminist moment.
In those years, Nadežda put a lot of effort into organizing the First Yugoslav Exhibition, in which artists from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria participated. Although Nadežda Petrović's paintings were in line with the most contemporary art trends in Europe, critics in Serbia did not respond well to them. Nadezhda didn't care much about it. She was a woman with great confidence and courage and she believed in what she was doing.
Exhibition NADEŽDA PETROVIĆ. MODERNITY AND THE NATION in the National Museum of Serbia, it was organized in Nadežda's honor and is open until April 15. I highly recommend you to visit her and find out more interesting information about this great artist and great heroine.Author: Jelena Čolović
In those years, Nadežda put a lot of effort into organizing the First Yugoslav Exhibition, in which artists from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria participated. Although Nadežda Petrović's paintings were in line with the most contemporary art trends in Europe, critics in Serbia did not respond well to them. Nadezhda didn't care much about it. She was a woman with great confidence and courage and she believed in what she was doing.
Exhibition NADEŽDA PETROVIĆ. MODERNITY AND THE NATION in the National Museum of Serbia, it was organized in Nadežda's honor and is open until April 15. I highly recommend you to visit her and find out more interesting information about this great artist and great heroine.Author: Jelena Čolović
