Ivana "Iva" Despić (; sr-Cyrl, Ивана "Ива" Деспић, ; 15 August 1891 – 12 July 1961) was a Yugoslav sculptor. Born in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, Despić-Simonović was educated 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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. From 1920 until her death she lived mostly in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, but also served as the

court sculptor A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

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 ...

. She was the first sculptor in modern-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and the only one in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, but faded into obscurity after the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Education and family

Iva Simonović was born in near

Petrinja Petrinja () is a town in central Croatia near Sisak in the historic region of Banija, Banovina. It is administratively located in Sisak-Moslavina County. On December 29, 2020, the town was 2020 Petrinja earthquake, hit by a strong earthquake wit ...

in Croatia-Slavonia,

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 ...

, on 15 August 1891. The Simonović family were wealthy. Her father, a general in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

, recognized her talent and provided her with an art education. She was trained by the sculptors

Robert Frangeš-Mihanović Robert Frangeš-Mihanović (2 October 1872 – 12 January 1940) was a Croatian people, Croatian sculptor. He was a pioneer of modern Croatian sculpture. He was also a prominent figure in the artistic scene in Zagreb at the turn of the Twentieth C ...

and Rudolf Valdec. Her first exhibition, part of the solo exhibition of her peer

Ljubo Babić Ljubomir Tito Stjepan Babić (14 June 1890 – 14 May 1974) was a Croatian artist, museum curator and literary critic. As an artist, he worked in a variety of media including oils, tempera, watercolour, drawing, etching, and lithography. He wa ...

, took place when she was still a student. Babić was interested in her romantically and painted a portrait of her. Iva Simonović continued her education in Paris and

, training as a

plaquette A plaquette (; "small plaque") is a small low relief sculpture in bronze or other materials. These were popular in the Italian Renaissance and later. They may be commemorative, but especially in the Renaissance and Mannerist periods were often ...

and

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

artist, and had an exhibition in Paris in 1914. Iva Despić-Simonović was married twice. Her first marriage, to Aleksandar Zarevski, was

annulled Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almo ...

. She met Aleksandar "Aco" Despić in

towards the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, which was followed by the

creation of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia was a State (polity), state concept among the South Slavs, South Slavic intelligentsia and later popular masses from the 19th to early 20th centuries that culminated in its realization after the 1918 collapse of Austria-Hungary at th ...

. The couple married in 1920, and Despić-Simonović moved to her husband's hometown of

. They had a daughter, Gospava "Cica", and a son, Bato. Her in-laws, the Despić family, were prominent and wealthy merchants, and she felt repressed by their

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...

attitude. This is reflected by a self-portrait bust named ''Constrained'', now housed in the

National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina The National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Umjetnička galerija Bosne i Hercegovine'' / Умјетинчка галерија Босне и Херцеговине) is a national gallery of art in Bosnia an ...

. Despić-Simonović longed for a space of her own. By 1931, the demand for her artwork had grown so much that she could afford to have a summer house built for herself in

Vasin Han Vasin () is a Russian male surname that is derived from ''Vasiliy'', the male given name ''Vasily (disambiguation), Vasily'', and literally means "Vasya's". Its feminine counterpart is Vasina (). It may refer to: * Denys Vasin (born 1989), Ukrainia ...

near Sarajevo. Moving too early into the still damp building, she caught a chronic illness that plagued her for years.

Career

Despić-Simonović had two solo exhibitions, in London and Belgrade in 1927, receiving favorable criticism. She took part in collective exhibitions in London, Belgrade,

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Zagreb,

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, Prague,

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

and Bratislava. Her international success brought her fame in Yugoslavia as well, to the point of being contacted by King Alexander. She had a personal

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 ...

at the royal court in Belgrade, where she portrayed high-ranking people. Despić-Simonović recalled that her skill became the talk of the court when Crown Prince Peter, then a toddler, came into her atelier and recognized the bust she was working on as depicting General

Stevan Hadžić Stevan Hadžić (19 February 1868 – 23 April 1931) was a General officer, general of the Royal Serbian Army and an Army general (Kingdom of Yugoslavia), army general of the Royal Yugoslav Army. In the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, he served four times ...

. She was made

as well as the sculpting instructor of Queen Maria, with whom she became particularly close. During her sojourn in Belgrade, Despić-Simonović portrayed the King, the Queen, generals, and other high-ranking people, including King Ferdinand of Romania and Prince Kiril of Bulgaria. Other well-known works include the sculptures ''Children in the Snow'' (1923), ''Good Friends'' (1923), and ''Bato is Playing'' (1925), as well as the plaque ''Consolation'' (1927). In her early career, Despić-Simonović was influenced by the ideals of

early Renaissance Renaissance art (1350 – 1620) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occurr ...

, but later adopted an

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

approach. Despić-Simonović was the first sculptor in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, and remained the only one throughout the

. Bosnian women at that time were mostly illiterate and took no part in public life, but Despić-Simonović's career flourished and she was well known in society. In a 1937 interview, she complained about the treatment of

women artists The absence of women from the canon of Western culture, Western Art history, art has been a subject of inquiry and reconsideration since the early 1970s. Linda Nochlin's influential 1971 essay, "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?", e ...

, saying: "I am under impression that male artists do not value the artistic work of women. They have it easy ... When a male artist's child is ill, he keeps doing his job. When my daughter had

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

, I did not care about sculpting." Despić-Simonović was inspired by motherhood and frequently portrayed her children. She was particularly keen to make a monument to mothers, similar to the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs are located in many nations and are usually high-profile na ...

, which was becoming widespread across the world. Her idea was not supported, and she claimed that it was copied and later realized in the United States.

Later life

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Despić-Simonović stayed on her estate near Sarajevo. Wartime scarcity forced her to buy a cow to support the family. According to her daughter, the family had to hide the cow from soldiers in her atelier, and the distressed animal damaged a number of sculptures. The Communist Party took power following the war and the monarchy was abolished. As a supporter of the exiled royal family, Despić-Simonović was arrested in June 1945 and spent some time imprisoned in Sarajevo. A portrait she made at that time of another prisoner, the actor Ante Franjković "Dalmata", has been preserved. She was released soon, but her life changed. She was shunned and found little work, devoting increasingly more time to painting and drawing and less to sculpting. Her most notable works following the Second World War are the busts of poets

Aleksa Šantić Aleksa Šantić ( sr-Cyrl, Алекса Шантић, (); 27 May 1868 – 2 February 1924) was a Herzegovinian Serb poet and writer from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Šantić wrote about the urban culture of his hometown Mostar and Herzegovi ...

Svetozar Ćorović Svetozar Ćorović (29 May 1875 – 17 April 1919) was a Serbian novelist from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

and

Osman Đikić Osman Đikić (; 7 January 1879 – 30 March 1912) was a Serb poet from Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia, dramatist and writer. He was born in Mostar, in Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina under Austro-Hunga ...

, ordered by the authorities of

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

. Despić-Simonović died on 12 July 1961 in her atelier in

. Plans to protect her home and turn it into an

artists' colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission- ...

surfaced a few years after her death but were never realized. The house was restored in 2005 by a new owner, and at that time a number of previously unknown plaster busts were found behind hidden basement doors.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Despic-Simonovic, Iva 1891 births 1961 deaths Serbs of Croatia Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Yugoslav sculptors Bosnia and Herzegovina women sculptors People from Petrinja Artists from Sarajevo 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina artists Court sculptors 20th-century women sculptors