National Museum to exhibit Vlaho Bukovac's paintings

BELGRADE - An exhibition titled Painter Vlaho Bukovac (1855-1922), the first to include all of the artist's 23 works kept at the National Museum in Belgrade, will open at the museum on Wednesday.

The author of the exhibition, senior curator Petar Petrovic, has said that the paintings to be displayed are just a small part of the multitude of the artist's works, which are scattered around the world.

"Bukovac is a first-rate painter," Petrovic said, adding that Bukovac had a brilliant artistic career as an exceptional artist, academician and pedagogue.

The exhibition recapitulates his rich artistic output, which ranged from academism and realism to impressionism and symbolism, Petrovic also said.

Visitors will be able to see a portrait of Queen Natalie Obrenovic from 1882 and a portrait of her son, King Alexander Obrenovic, from 1901, while exhibits also include a portrait of King Alexander Karadjordjevic from 1922.

The diptych Daedalus and Icarus, framed by the author himself, is a particularly interesting part of the exhibition.

Bukovac was born in Cavtat in 1855. While still at school, Bukovac, a talented and diligent student of fine arts, was granted permission to stage an exhibition at the prestigious Paris Salon in 1878.

As a successful student of highly respected professor Alexandre Cabanel (1824-1889), the young and ambitious painter settled in in Paris quickly and flawlessly.

He worked in London, Paris, Dubrovnik, Zagreb, occasionally Belgrade, Vienna and, ultimately, Prague.

Photo Tanjug, D. Stankovic