Ivo Vojnović (9 October 1857 – 30 August 1929) was a writer from
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
.
Biography
Vojnović was born in
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
as the first son of Count Konstantin Vojnović (1832–1903) and Maria de Serragli (1836–1922) on 9 October 1857 in Dubrovnik, the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
. He was a member of the Serbian noble House of Vojnović through his father. His mother was of noble Florentine descent. The city of his birth and its history had an important influence on his later literary work. Most of his childhood however he spent in Split. He had a famous younger brother Lujo Vojnović, who would later play an important political and cultural role in the late 19th- and 20th-century Dalmatia and Montenegro.
As a young man he moved to
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 ...
with his family, where he graduated from the
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...
Faculty of Law in 1879.
Until 1884 he served as a trainee of the Royal Court Table in Zagreb. After that he continued his judicial career in Križevci (1884–1889),
Bjelovar
Bjelovar (, , Czech language, Czech: ''Bělovar'' or ''Bělovár,'' Kajkavian dialect, Kajkavian: ''Belovar,'' Latin: ''Bellovarium'') is a city in central Croatia. In the Demographics of Croatia, 2021 census, its population was 36,316 .
It is ...
(1889),
Zadar
Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...
(1889–1891).
In 1893, Vojnović wrote a short play ''Gundulićev san'' (lit. Gundulić's Dream) that was published in Dubrovnik at the time of the unveiling of the Gundulić monument, which explicitly advocated a unity of
Croats
The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
and
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
in Dubrovnik.
In 1899, he obtained employment at the court in Dubrovnik, then moved to Supetar on the island of
Brač
Brač is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, with an area of ,
making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. It is separated from the mainland by the Brač Channel, which is wide.
In 1907, he became the dramaturg at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. At this time, Vojnović's pro-Serbian ideas were apparent from his work, in which he enthusiastically supported the unification of South Slavs under Serbia.
Prior to the
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
, Vojnović wrote plays that showed great pride in his origins, however, that would not augur well during World War I when war broke out between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.
In 1911, travelled to
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
,
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
,
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 ...
. In his 1912 visit to Belgrade he publicly claimed he had Serbian noble descent. In 1914, he went back to Dubrovnik where the Austrian-Hungarian government imprisoned him in a
Šibenik
Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...
jail under charges of being a
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
n nationalist. After four months, on Christmas Eve 1914 he was relocated to a prison near Linz, Austria. He was detained without trial for three years by his Austrian captors.
In 1917 he was finally transferred to the Sisters of Mercy Hospital in Zagreb. There, unsuccessful attempts were made to cure some severe eye ailments that he had contracted while being incarcerated.
After
World War I
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 ...
ended, in 1919 he moved to France, where he mostly lived in
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million
Because of his claims of being a nobleman, and because of his unrestrained Yugoslavism, by 1924 Miroslav Krleža had engaged in a public feud with him, calling him a fake count and a drama dilettante.
In 1928, Vojnović's eye problems became acute, threatened with blindness, and in ill health, he went to Serbia to be treated in a
sanatorium
A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence.
Sanatoriums are often in a health ...
in Krunska street,
Vračar
Vračar ( sr-Cyrl, Врачар, ) is an affluent urban area and Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade known as the location of many embassies and museums. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a popul ...
, Belgrade. He died there in 1929. He was buried in Dubrovnik.
Works
Vojnović entered literature in 1880 when August Šenoa's '' Vienac'' published his short story "Geranijum" under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
''Sergej P''. Matica hrvatska under the leadership of Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski published his novels ''Perom i olovkom'' in (1884) and ''Ksanta'' (1888) under the same pseudonym.
Vojnović was the author of dramas of naturalistic cut, inspired by the literary and patriotic traditions of the Republic of Dubrovnik. He is known for his ''Dubrovačka trilogija'' (Zagreb, 1902), which was later translated into English and published in
Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
in 1922 under the title of ''"Dubrovnik Trilogy"''. The book describes the fall of the Dubrovnik Republic. His other works include: ''Death of the Mother of the Jugović'' (1906) and ''Resurrection of Lazarus'' (1913). He is the author of psychological dramas such as: '' Lady of the Sunflower'' (1912; filmed in 1918 by
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz (; born Manó Kaminer; from 1905 Mihály Kertész; ; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed classic films from the silen ...
), and of pieces such as: ''Dance of Masks in the Attic'' (1922), which reflect the influence of
Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello (; ; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italians, Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his bold and ...
on Vojnović. His play ''Equinox'' (''Ekvinocij'', 1898) was in 1942 put to opera with the same title by the Slovene composer
Marjan Kozina
Marjan Kozina (4 June 1907 – 19 June 1966) was a Slovenes, Slovene composer. He is considered one of the most important Slovene composers of the 20th century. His best known works include a symphony, composed in stages through the late 1940s; t ...
.
Legacy
The ethnicity and nationality of Ivo Vojnović is a disputed matter. His brother Lujo Vojnović had actively taken part in the Serb Catholic movement in 19th century Dubrovnik, unlike Ivo.
In 1921, Serbian literary critic Jovan Skerlić wrote: ''"Ivo Vojnović is one of those writers who are in the middle of two literatures and one language, between Serbian and Croatian. He started his work exclusively in Croatian literature, but in time proceeded towards Serbian motif and began writing for the Serbian literary public as well."''
In 2005, Serbian literature professor Dušan Ivanić listed Ivo Vojnović in an anthology of Serb writers from Croatia, which prompted protests in Croatia.
In 2010, the National and University Library in Zagreb and the Dubrovnik branch of Matica hrvatska published the combined letters of Ivo Vojnović, in three volumes, collected by Tihomil Maštrović and edited by Luko Paljetak. His letters were interesting for their sheer volume—over 1,700 pages—the number of languages Vojnović had used, and some personal peculiarities that led to him being called a dandy.