Uros Predic's Studio
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Uroš Predić's Studio ( sr-Cyr, Атеље Уроша Предића, ) is located at 27 Svetogorska Street in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
, the capital of
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
. It was built in 1908 for a famous merchant Josif Predić. His brother
Uroš Predić Uroš Predić ( sr-Cyrl, Урош Предић, ; Orlovat, 7 December 1857 – Belgrade, 12 February 1953) was a Serbian Realism (visual arts), Realist painter. Along with Paja Jovanović and Đorđe Krstić, he is considered the most important ...
, one of the most important Serbian Realist painters, moved in the house in 1909 and used it as his studio (''
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 vi ...
'') until his death in 1953. Due to its specific small pink façade in the
Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (; also known as the Union of Austrian Artists or ) is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian painters, graphic artists, sculptors and architects, including Josef Ho ...
style, it has been described as a ''
bomboniere A bomboniere (), singular "bomboniera", (; Italian, from French ''bonbonnière'', a box containing " bonbons") is a kind of fragrant-smelling party favor given out on special occasions such as weddings, baptism, First Communion or Confirmation. ...
''. As of 2018, it is the oldest preserved ''atelier'' in Belgrade. It has been declared a
cultural monument A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage registe ...
and protected by law in 1987.


Location

The house is located at 27 Svetogorska Street, at the mid-section of the street. It is situated in the south-east part of the municipality of Stari Grad. The neighbourhood was known as the Dva Bela Goluba ("Two White Doves"), after the famous ''
kafana Kafana is a type of local coffeehouse, bistro or tavern, common in the countries of Southeast Europe, which originally served coffee and other warm drinks while today usually also offer alcoholic beverages and food. Many kafanas feature live mus ...
'' in the neighborhood. The house is located among several other cultural monuments in the neighbourhood: Jevrem Grujić's House (17 Svetogorska St, built 1896, protected 1961), House of Dr. Stanoje Stanojević (32 Svetogorska St, built 1899, protected 1984), Commercial Academy Building (48 Svetogorska St, built 1926, protected 1992), Artisans Club Building in Belgrade (2 Hilandarska St, built 1933, protected 1984) and Building of Ljubomir Miladinović (6 Hilandarska St, built 1938, protected 2001). Also in the vicinity is the theatre house
Atelje 212 Atelje 212 ( sr-Cyrl, Атеље 212) is a theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia. Established in 1956 on the premises of the '' Borba'' building in front of 212 chairs, its opening play was the staging of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's '' Faust'' dir ...
.


Building

The house was built in 1908 as a family, one-storey house for Josif Predić, according to the design of a prominent architect
Nikola Nestorović Nikola Nestorović ( sr-cyr, Никола Несторовић, 15 April 1868 Požarevac - 18 February 1957, Belgrade) was a Serbian architect and professor at the Technical Faculty. He is one of the most important architects in Serbia, whose crea ...
. The house is shaped after an elongated floor plan, with free side façades. The elongation of the house to the inside was a forced solution, due to the shape of the parcel on which it was projected. Hence, all the house rooms (living rooms, bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, pantries) are located in the direction of the objects depth. The main salon was located along the street. The design of the front façade is ornamented in the
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
style, as a uniform surface with dynamic plastic decoration. The still distinct traditional impact of the
Academism Academic art, academicism, or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. This method extended its influence throughout the Western world over several centuries, from its origins ...
is noticeable in the treatment of the apertures and
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
. Richly decorated front façade of the house, with the friezes of the grape vine, floral wreaths twisted around the medallions, is one of the most interesting examples of implementation of the Vienna secession in Belgrade architecture from the beginning of the 20th century. The smallish canvas of the façade is conceptualized without standard Academic divisions of the space and presented an array of new stylish elements. Gradation of the relief plastic in the vertical direction, which is so typical for the secession, was applied in this case to the letter. The yard cart gate is placed laterally to the façade and has stylized wooden door and
stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
above it. Until the late 1950s it was possible to see all the way to the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
and the
Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...
plain across the river, but since then the neighbouring highrise encircled the old house and closed the view. The studio itself was additionally built next to the already existing building on the inner, yard side. It is of a modest size with huge glass windows and a small balcony. It was specifically built as an atelier, which makes it one of the first in Belgrade, and intended as a gift from Josif to his brother Uroš. It covers an area of and hasn't been expanded since it was built. The studio is approached via a yard's cart door and has its own, separate entrance. As much as the outer façade is ornamented with the Secession decorations, that much is the "painter's entry" plain and simple. The studio was built above the Uroš Predić's apartment in the house, and the two are connected by a spiral staircase. As it was originally planned to be an artist's atelier, the room is still fully functional for its purpose, though it was neglected in time. The atelier is tall and the entire front wall is actually a glass panel, so that there is enough light.


History

The house was finished in 1908. A year later, Uroš Predić moved in, upon his arrival from his birthplace
Orlovat Orlovat (; ) is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (95.52%) and its population numbering 1,789 people (2002 census). Name I ...
, near
Zrenjanin Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city urban area has a population of 67,129 inh ...
, at the time part of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
. He remained in the house for the next 44 years and died in the house on 11 February 1953. Some of his most important works were created in the atelier. As Predić never married and had no children, according to his will, majority of his belongings was transferred from his studio to the National Museum in Zrenjanin. They included his personal objects, paintings,
easel An easel is an upright support used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it, at an angle of about 20° to the vertical. In particular, painters traditionally use an easel to support a painting while they work on it, normally stan ...
, correspondence, etc. Some of his personal possessions are kept by the members of his wider family. After Predić's death, another well known artist,
Miodrag B. Protić Miodrag B. Protić ( sr-cyr, Миодраг Б. Протић; 10 May 1922 – 20 December 2014) was a Serbian painter, art critic, theorist and historian of art of the 20th century. Biography Miodrag B. Protić was born in Vrnjačka Banja, on 10 M ...
, a painter and a manager of the Belgrade's Museum of Contemporary Art, moved in the house. He was a tenant from the autumn of 1954 to 1957. While Predić was known for his historically and religiously realistic paintings, Protić, on the other hand, was a representative of an
abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...
. As some art historians noted, "different kind of paintings were now created in Predić's atelier. Abstraction inherited realism". Protić, however, didn't stay long in the atelier, so the studio was vacant for a while. Painter was the next tenant. After being awarded with the 1958 October Award for graphics, he used the prize money to buy the house. Ćelić later became dean of the Artistic Academy and member of the
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS). The Academy's membership has included Nobel Prize, Nobel la ...
. He introduced some minor changes, adding a toilet and the
kitchenette A kitchenette is a small cooking area, which usually has a refrigerator and a microwave oven, but may have other appliances - for example a sink. They are found in studio apartments, some motel and hotel rooms, college dormitories, office buildings ...
. By the time Ćelić purchased the house, spiral staircase which connected the atelier and the apartment below were already closed. Being in downtown but secluded in the inner yard, the atelier was especially popular meeting place while Ćelić lived in it. So much, that he had to set two days in a week when he was receiving guests. Frequent visitors who participated in lively debates included painters (
Mladen Srbinović Mladen Srbinović (Sušica near Gostivar, 29 November 1925 — Belgrade, 12 May 2009) was a Serbian painter, member of the Arts and Sciences academies of Serbia and Macedonia and professor of Belgrade University. Biography Mladen Srbinović wa ...
), authors (
Slobodan Selenić Slobodan Selenić (Serbian Cyrillic: Слободан Селенић; 7 June 1933 – 27 October 1995) was a Serbian writer, literary critic, dramatist, academic and university professor of 20th century literature. Biography He graduated from ...
, Boris Heljd, , ), sculptors (), journalists (Zoran Žujović), art historians (Irina Subotić). The only person who was allowed to visit unannounced was Ćelić's longtime friend, theatrical director . When he would get fed up by the guests in the house, Ćelić was known to say "I wouldn't bother you any more", even though he was the host. He died on 30 April 1992. After being vacant for eight years after Ćelić's death, painter Đorđe Ivačković purchased the house in 2000. He acquired the house to preserve the memory on Uroš Predić, as he mostly lived in Paris where he had a prosperous international career. Ivačković died in 2012 and his family inherited the house. Some of his paintings are still in the atelier which has been maintained to a certain level, but it is not used as a painting atelier anymore.Ј. Dengeri, N. Martinović: Ivačković, Rima gallery, 2014


Importance

In general, the house is one of major representatives of the Vienna Secession style in Belgrade architecture of the early 20th century, with discrete, but visible, touches of Academism. Uroš Predić's studio, as the space the great artist used to live and create in, along with the artistic legacy, is part of the special monumental values of the memorial character in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
. Hence, the house was declared a cultural monument in 1987. The explanation of the Institute for the protection of the monuments said: "Uroš Predić's Atelier is located in the building which was built in 1908, on a design by architect Nikola Nestorović, as a family house of Uroš's brother Josif Predić. In this atelier he (Uroš) spent 44 years, since 1909 when he moved in, to his death in 1953. In it, he created his most important paintings, which in great measure set the direction of the development of the Serbian painting in the first decade of the 20th century".


References

{{Reflist, 30em Buildings and structures in Belgrade Stari Grad, Belgrade