Milić Stanković (1934 – 2000), known by his artistic name Milić of

Mačva Mačva ( sr-Cyrl, Мачва, ; ) is a geographical and historical region in the northwest of Central Serbia, on a fertile plain between the Sava (river), Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is nam ...

(, Milić od Mačve; 30 October 1934 – 8 December 2000), was a

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 ...

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 ...

and artist often named

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

's Dalí for his figurative

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 ...

paintings.

Biography

Stanković was born in 1934 in Belotić,

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

. When he was in the second year of high school in the town of Šabac, a professor of drawing, Đorđe Kostić came to

Šabac Šabac ( sr-Cyrl, Шабац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river ...

from Belgrade, demolished after the Nazi bombardment. Kostić founded the art section in the basement of the high school. The professor had a special ability of perceiving children gifted in painting, including Milić. As a high school student, Milić participated at painting exhibitions in the town. Because of poverty, his parents decided that he should attend the Military Academy 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 ...

. Milić was accepted, but at the last moment, managed to convince his parents that architecture would be better for him and more promising for the future. Young Milić had talent and good will, and now it became important for him to remain in Belgrade. At the School of Architecture, he was taught by an extraordinary draughtsman - Pivo Karamatijević. The first year, he lived in the Students' City,

New Belgrade New Belgrade (, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. It was a Planned community, planned city and now is the central business district of Serbia and South East Europe. Construction began in 1948 in a previously un ...

. In the fall of 1953, Milić began socializing with the family of Đorđe Kadijević. Milić and Đorđe were constantly fantasizing about painting. The next year, Milić passed the entrance exam to the Academy of Fine Arts, in contrast to Kadijević, who did not pass it. Milić received support from his mother Desanka for admission to the academy, and he was especially encouraged by his high school classmate Vlada Lalicki, from Šabac. Later, as a specially gifted student, he received a scholarship. At the Academy of Fine Arts, he studied in the class of professor Kosta Hakman, and after Hakman's death, with professor Ljubica Sokić. Milić graduated from the academy in 1959. On Milić's first solo exhibition, Herbert Beck, a famous collector from

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bought seven of his paintings for 770,000

dinars The dinar () is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (''dīnār''), which was bor ...

, a significant amount at the time. Milić was a very prolific painter. As of February 2000, he had painted around 7,500 paintings, more than 13,000 graphics and hundreds of icons and frescoes. By his works he defended the Serbian tradition from oblivion and distortion. He died on December 8, 2000, in

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

References

20th-century Serbian people Mačva Artists from Šabac 1934 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Serbian painters Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery Serbian male painters 20th-century Serbian male artists {{Serbia-painter-stub