Pero Popović (, 1881 – 1 February 1941) was a

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби Босне и Херцеговине, Srbi Bosne i Hercegovine), often referred to as Bosnian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, босански Срби, bosanski Srbi) or Herzegovinian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, � ...

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 ...

. Pero Popović was born in

Prijedor Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it had a population of 80,916 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in the northwestern part of the Bosanska ...

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 ...

at the time part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire 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 between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. After graduating from high school in Sarajevo, he went to

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. ...

and completed three semesters of philosophy, and then went to the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

in Prague and studied painting with

Vlaho Bukovac Vlaho Bukovac (; ; 4 July 1855 – 23 April 1922) was a Croatian painting, painter and academic. His life and work were eclecticism, eclectic, for the artist pursued his career in a variety of locales and his style changed greatly over the course ...

and Czech

František Ženíšek František Ženíšek (25 May 1849 – 15 November 1916) was a Czech painter. He was part of the "" (Generation of the National Theater), a large group of artists with nationalistic sympathies. Early life Ženíšek was born in Prague into a fa ...

. Popović, with two other student colleagues

Todor Švrakić Todor Švrakić (1882–1931) was a Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Painting, painter. He was one of the early 20th century pioneers of Bosnian painting within the European style and is considered one of the Western Balkans' most notable waterc ...

and

Branko Radulović Branko Radulović (1881–1916) was a Serbian painter. He was one of the first group of modern-day academically-trained painters which emerged on the Belgrade art scene in Bosnia and Hercegovina at the turn of the 20th century. Among them were: Br ...

, would eventually go on to organize the first exhibition of local painters in

in 1907 in Sarajevo and the second one in 1910 in Prijedor. Popović was employed as an art professor at ''Velika Realka'' gymnasium in

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

in 1908. His students were

Milivoj Uzelac Milivoj Uzelac (1897–1977) was a painter influential in the Zagreb modern art scene of the 1920s and 30s. During the Zagreb Spring Salon of the 1920s, he participated with Vilko Gecan, Marijan Trepše and Vladimir Varlaj as the Group of Four ...

and Vilko Gecan. He moved from Banja Luka to Sarajevo in 1930 and remained there for the rest of his life. He painted portraits, landscapes, still lifes, compositions with scenes from everyday life. He also painted icons for an iconostasis for the church in Prijedor and mosaics for the church in Banja Luka. He transitioned from imitating Bukovac's palette with the pointillist foundations to turning a strong and contrasting coloristic expression, which approached the Seanist poetics and

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

. Regarding Popović's paintings, the art historian Vera Jablan writes: "''Studies of nudes and portraits, sketches from the streets and unfinished compositions sometimes show how seriously this painter approached the work. How great he had the demands of himself, in front of his artist conscience. independent of the desire and taste of the audience, uninterested in selling his works, he constantly creates.''" Popović soon abandoned the pointillism and at first lazily, and then freer to the pastures, sought his own expression. His works are considered serious studies, coloristic and tonal relations. The rich scale of strong tones, bold contrasts of colors and illumination, expressive drawing and solid composition characterize his creativity, in which, with an exceptionally strong grasp of the whole, he feels the virtuoso, almost oriental finesse of details. Popović died 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popović, Pero 1881 births 1941 deaths Bosnia and Herzegovina painters Bosnia and Herzegovina artists Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian painters Serbian artists