Ana Bešlić (; 16 March 1912, Šarapusta near

Bajmok Bajmok ( sr-Cyrl, Бајмок; hu, Bajmok, ) is a village located in the municipality of Subotica, in the North Bačka District, Vojvodina, Serbia. The village is ethnically mixed and its population numbered 7,414 inhabitants as of 2011 census. ...

– 27 February 2008,

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

) was a Serbian

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Biography

She was born in a Sárapuszta (modern-day Šarapusta) near the Bačkan town of

, between

Sombor Sombor ( sr-Cyrl, Сомбор, ; hu, Zombor; rue, Зомбор, Zombor) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the West Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city has a total popula ...

and

Subotica Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, ...

, at that time in

Bács-Bodrog County Bács-Bodrog County ( hu, Bács-Bodrog vármegye, german: Komitat Batsch-Bodrog, sr, Бачко-бодрошка жупанија, Bačko-bodroška županija) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom ...

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

to a family of

Bunjevac Bunjevci ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Bunjevci, Буњевци, ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevac, Буњевац, sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevka, Буњевка) are a South Slavic sub-ethnic group living ...

origins. Ana Bešlić was one of the most important representatives of modern sculpture in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. By genre, she belonged to the group of artists that, since the 1950s, became recognisable by their artistic curiosity and non-mainstream approach, being the pioneers of changing of sculptor's style in Yugoslavia. Still, her creations were mostly oriented towards the making of monuments. She attended schools in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, but she developed her artistic education at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...

in 1949. Part of her works were donated to the city of Subotica, including the monument of Blaško Rajić. She spent her final years in Belgrade, where she died in 2008.

Works

Her best known sculptures are ''Plamen'', ''Majka i dete'', ''Talija'', ''Slomljena krila'' (being one of the best known sights in

Palić Palić ( sr-Cyrl, Палић; hu, Palics; german: Palitsch) is a town located in the city of Subotica, North Bačka District, autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is also located from the border between Serbia and Hungary. The town ha ...

), ''Majka i sin'', ''

Podravka Podravka d.d. is a Croatian food company based in Koprivnica. Founded in 1934, today it is one of the largest food companies in Southeast Europe. History 1934–1990 The brothers Marijan and Matija Wolf founded the company on 14 June 1934. A ...

's rooster'', ''Tina Turner'', and ''Blaško Rajić''.

Legacy

She won numerous awards for her work. Rajko Ljubič, a film director from Subotica, made a documentary about her in 2005.

External links

* * * *
Ana Beslic
Spomenik Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Beslic, Ana Croats of Vojvodina Artists from Subotica Artists from Belgrade 2008 deaths 1912 births 20th-century Serbian sculptors Bunjevci Serbian women sculptors 20th-century women artists