Svetislav Jovanović ( sr-cyr, Светислав Јовановић; 15 March 1861 – 1933) was a Serbian Realist painter.

Biography

He was born on March 15, 1861, in

Vršac Vršac ( sr-Cyrl, Вршац, ) is a city in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the city urban area had a population of 31,946, while the city administrative area had 45,462 inhabitants. It is located in the geographical ...

. He was the brother of the famous Serbian painter Paja Jovanović and Milan Jovanović, the most famous Serbian photographer of the 19th century. He finished high school in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where he began his studies in painting. He continued his studies in 1879 in Petrograd,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(with his brother Paja Jovanović) and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the Zillian Academy. He spent most of his life in Paris, where he lived for fifty years. He was especially esteemed in Paris, where he lived and was gladly accepted into the highest circles of France. One of his closest friends was the son of the President of the French Republic, Marie François Sadi Carnot. Svetislav Jovanović was decorated in 1928 with the French Order of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, and the Kingdom of Serbia awarded him the highest rank: the Order of the White Eagle and the Order of Saint Sava. Svetislav Jovanović made a self-portrait of himself in a fencing suit with a brush in his hands. Namely, he was not only an artist but also a swimmer, rider and swordsman with worldwide fame at the time. In Paris, Svetislav won the highest championship titles in 1904 and 1907 as a swordsman. About this, Gaston Renar, Jovanović's biographer, who places him among the world's most celebrated swordsmen, writes: "Hundreds of the defeated dropped their weapons under Jovanović's blows." swordsmen of the world such as Boda, Lana, Busea. That all this was not an exaggeration can be seen from the fact that Jovanović was the president of the largest and most powerful fencing club in France - the "Paris Fencing Club", which brought together personalities from the highest circles of France. Jovanović was elected to the post as a foreign citizen, although the rules explicitly stipulated that the president could only be French. Jovanović died in Paris in 1933 and was buried in the renowned

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

.http://www.macevanje.org/macevanje_svetislav_jovanovic.htm Svetislav Jovanović Biography

Works

*''Prelje'' (-1899) *''Polazak u lov'' (1899) *''Ašikovanje'' (1901) *''Albanac'' (1905) *''Orijentalka'' (1905–10) *''Mlada crnogorka'' (1910) *''Autoportret'' (1921)

Gallery

Prelje, Svetislav Jovanović.jpg, Prelje (B&W copy) File:Polazak u lov, Svetislav Jovanović.jpg, Polazak u lov (B&W copy)

References

Sources

External links