Nikola Arsenović ( sr-cyr, Никола Арсеновић, , 1823 – July 18, 1887) was a Serb designer and illustrator of folk costume; being posthumously dubbed a "Yugoslav ethnographer". A
tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
by profession, he started illustrating peasant clothing while traveling the lands after having left his family and shop for unknown reasons. The Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade acquired most of his work, the rest having been bought by various painters.
Life
He was born in
Retfala, near
Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
, in 1823,
[Gavrilović 2004, p. 37] the area being part of the
Kingdom of Slavonia
The Kingdom of Slavonia (, , , , sr-Cyrl, Краљевина Славонија) was a kingdom of the Habsburg monarchy and the Austrian Empire that existed from 1699 to 1868. The kingdom included northern parts of present-day regions of Sla ...
of the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
(now part of
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 ...
).
He finished primary school in Osijek, and then decided to become a
tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
.
[Gavrilović 2004, p. 38] As a youngster, he travelled to
Pest and
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, to perfect the craft, and also further to
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 in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.
[ He was away for 7 years, then returned, settling in ]Vukovar
Vukovar (; sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, , ) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern Regions of Croatia, regions of Syrmia and Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka (river), Vuka and the Danube. Vukova ...
, where he married and opened a large tailor shop with eight workers.[ Apart from peasant (or "national") clothing, he also tailored for military officers, clergy and citizens.][
He died in Belgrade, on July 18, 1887.][ He was a Yugoslavist, and called himself a Yugoslav.
]
Work
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References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Arsenovic, Nikola
People from the Principality of Serbia
People from the Kingdom of Serbia
19th-century Serbian people
19th-century tailors
19th-century Serbian illustrators
Folk costumes
Serbian watercolourists
People from Osijek
Serbs of Croatia
Serbian tailors
Habsburg Serbs
Serbian Austro-Hungarians
1823 births
1887 deaths