Pavle Simić (

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, 1818 – Novi Sad,

Austro-Hungarian Empire 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 ...

, 17 January 1876) was one of the most significant artists during the Serbian

Romantic era Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

Biography

Pavle Simić was born into a family of merchants. Having lost his parents very early, he was taken in by his grandfather who was a priest in

Kanjiža Kanjiža ( sr-Cyrl, Кањижа, pronounced ) formerly Stara Kanjiža ( sr-cyrl, Стара Кањижа; yi, קניזשא; hu, Magyarkanizsa, formerly ''Kanizsa'') is a town and municipality located in the North Banat District of the autonomou ...

. During one Sunday service, he became overwhelmed with admiration for the iconostasis painted by

Teodor Ilić Češljar Teodor Ilić Češljar ( sr-cyr, Теодор Илић Чешљар) was a Serbian Rococo, late baroque painter from Vojvodina (then part of the Austrian Empire) best known for being the creator of the ''Royal Doors'' from Ostojićevo. Biography � ...

that he decided from that moment on to become an artist. He completed his secondary education in

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, ...

, then he enrolled in a private art school in

and joined the

Atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...

of Aloiza Castagni, an Italian painter, originally from

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

. In December 1837 he moved to

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

and attended 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 ...

. There he studied the history of painting until 1841.

Lithography

Acutely aware of the ubiquitous role of graphic prints, Simić made many preparatory drawings for graphic works. His "Serbs Gathered round a Guslar Singer" was turned into a lithograph in 1839 by Johann Baptist Clarot. Simić also prepared three drawings for Anastas Jovanović's lithographs. These were the portraits "Vuk Karadžić", "Pavle Karanotvrtković" (both in 1841) and "Georgije Servijski" (1846). He also engaged lithographer Josef Anton Bauer to transfer his picture "

May Assembly May Assembly ( sr, Мајска скупштина / Majska skupština) was the national assembly of the Serbs in Austrian Empire, held on 1 and 3 May 1848 in Sremski Karlovci, during which the Serbs proclaimed autonomous Serbian Vojvodina. This ...

" in 1848.

Oeuvres

Simić painted mainly icons for the sanctuary screens (iconostases) and

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

of distinguished families of the time. Among his works are the

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

Kuveždin Monastery The Kuveždin monastery ( sr, Манастир Кувеждин, Manastir Kuveždin) is a Serb Orthodox monastery on the Fruška Gora mountain in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina. Traditionally, its foundation is ascribed to Stefan Št ...

(1849) that of the church of

Šabac Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...

(1853-1856); he worked at Stari

Futog Futog (, German and hu, Futak) is a suburban settlement of the city of Novi Sad, Serbia, with a population of 18,642 according to the 2011 census in Serbia. It is situated in southern Bačka, 7 km away from Novi Sad. Name ''Terra que Futog et ...

(1855), painted the iconostasis of Đurđevo in the region of

Šajkaška Šajkaška (Шајкашка) is a historical region in northern Serbia. It is southeastern part of Bačka, located in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Territory of Šajkaška is divided among four municipalities: Titel, Žabalj, Novi Sad, ...

(1857), that of the church of Saints Peter and Paul of

Rumenka Rumenka () is a suburban settlement of the city of Novi Sad, Serbia. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and a population of 6,495 people (2011 census). Name In Serbian and Croatian, the village is known as ''Rumenka'' (Руменка), and ...

and that of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Archangel Michael of

Senta Senta ( sr-cyrl, Сента, ; Hungarian: ''Zenta'', ; Romanian: ''Zenta'') is a town and municipality located in the North Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the bank of the Tisa river in the g ...

(1859) He still worked in the church of St. Nicholas of Novi Sad (1863) and in the chapel of Platon Atanacković, in the cemetery of Almaš in Novi Sad (1864). Also, his art can be found in the church of St. Nicholas of Bašaid, in the

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

(1864-1866), the church of

Orahovica Monastery The Orahovica Monastery ( sr, Манастир Ораховица, Manastir Orahovica) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery in the village of Duzluk of Orahovica, Croatia. It is mentioned in 1583 when it was a seat of the Požega metropolitanate an ...

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

(1867), the old church of

Glina Glina is a word of Slavic origin, meaning "clay". It may refer to: * Glina (river) in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina *Glina, Croatia, a town in Croatia ** Glina massacres, 1941 * Glina, Piotrków County in Łódź Voivodeship (central Poland) * ...

(1866-1868), Church of St. George of

(1870-1873) and Hariševa Chapel of

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...

(1874). Simić is even better known as a portrait painter. His portraits include ''Probojčević, Čovek u belom prsluku'' and Archpriest

Matija Nenadović Matija Nenadović ( sr-cyrl, Матија Ненадовић, or Mateja Nenadović sr-cyr, Матеја Ненадовић; 26 February 1777 – 11 December 1854), also known as Prota Mateja, was a Serbian archpriest, writer, and politician who ...

, some of the finest Serbian paintings of the mid-nineteenth century. Among his small portraits are Agripina Grujić and the poet

Milica Stojadinović-Srpkinja Milica Stojadinovic-Srpkinja ( sr-cyr, Милица Стојадиновић Српкиња, ) (1828–1878) was a Serbian poet, sometimes called "the greatest female Serbian poet of the 19th century". Career As her fame spread beyond the confin ...

. He is also the author of historical compositions, some of which has now disappeared.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simić, Pavle 1818 births 1876 deaths 19th-century Serbian painters Serbian male painters 19th-century Serbian male artists

Biography

Lithography

Oeuvres

See also

References