Ljubomir "Ljuba" Popović (14 October 1934 – 12 August 2016) was a Serbian

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. He is renowned for his many erotic and unconventionally juxtaposed subject matters.

Biography

Born in Tuzla, Bosnia, Popović studied Fine Arts in Belgrade. During a visit to Paris, he was impressed by the discovery of 1959 exhibition of surrealist art from the Urvater collection. In 1960, he founded the movement " Mediala", to express concepts of desire and fear. Popović arrived in Paris in 1963 and was immediately taken in by French gallerists and surrealists. Living in Paris and supported by the Thessa Herold's gallery, he painted fantastical scenes, full of disturbing and desirable creatures, reminiscent of Dali's work, according to a Mandiargues's review in 1970. Inspired by Renaissance and Baroque painting, as well as his grandfather's exorcisms, Popović's works deal with the demons of a dark pessimism. He is the subject of the short

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

''L'amour monstre de tous les temps'' (1978) by

Walerian Borowczyk Walerian Borowczyk (21 October 1923 – 3 February 2006) was a Polish film director described by film critics as a "genius who also happened to be a pornographer". He directed 40 films between 1946 and 1988. Borowczyk settled in Paris in 1959. A ...

. Popović lived in Paris since 1963, occasionally visiting Serbia. In July 2016, whilst at his summer retreat on the Athos peninsula in Greece, he was taken ill and was transferred to a Belgrade hospital. He died on the night between 11 and 12 August 2016.Renowned Serbian painter Ljuba Popovic passes away
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1934 births 2016 deaths Artists from Tuzla Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian painters Yugoslav emigrants to France {{France-painter-20thC-stub