Toma Rosandić ( sr-cyr, Тома Росандић; baptized as Tomaso Vincenzo, 22 January 1878 – 1 March 1958) was a Serbian and Yugoslav sculptor, architect and fine arts pedagog. Together with

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pavle Bilinić's ...

(1883–1962), he was the most prominent of Yugoslav sculptors of his day.

Biography

Rosandić was born in the Dalmatian city of

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertain ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, the son of a stoneworker. The family name, Rosandić originates from Cetinska Krajina, in the Dalmatian Hinterlands. During the early years in Split, Rosandić learnt to carve in wood as well as stone and was much inspired by the younger

Meštrović Meštrović or Mestrovic (also Mestrovich, Meshtrovich) is a Croatian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Carolina Mestrovic (born 1991), Chilean singer, actress and television presenter *Ivan Meštrović (1883–1962), Croatian scul ...

who had moved there from Otavice. Both sculptors studied overseas before returning to Split, Rosandić touring Italy and exhibiting in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

in 1906 and Belgrade in 1912. He exhibited his artworks as a part of

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Prin ...

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

at International Exhibition of Art of 1911. Something of their parallel development and underlying rivalry can be understood from their respective projects to combine sculpture and architecture. Both constructed a mausoleum, Rosandić for the Petrinović family (

Supetar Supetar (, it, San Pietro della Brazza) is a town on the northern side of the Dalmatian island of Brač, in the Split-Dalmatia County, in Croatia. It became the island's official centre in 1827. The Town of Supetar includes Supetar itself and th ...

, on the island of

Brač Brač is an island in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia, 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. The island's talles ...

off Split) and Meštrović to the Račić family (

Cavtat Cavtat (, it, Ragusa Vecchia, lit=Old Ragusa) is a village in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. It is on the Adriatic Sea coast south of Dubrovnik and is the centre of the Konavle municipality. History Antiquity The original city was ...

, south of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...

). Each exhibit the influence of Dalmatian history, but while Meštrović's mausoleum is based on the principle of simplicity, Rosandić richly ornamented his building with a blend of

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

motifs to express a more national character. With the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Rosandić left for London where he exhibited at the

Grafton Galleries The Grafton Galleries, often referred to as the Grafton Gallery, was an art gallery in Mayfair, London. The French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel showed the first major exhibition in Britain of Impressionist paintings there in 1905. Roger Fry' ...

in 1917 and later in Brighton and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Rosandić settled in Belgrade. He was interned by the German occupation forces during the war, but was later released through the intervention of

Dragomir Jovanović Dragomir "Dragi" Jovanović (27 July 1902 – 17 July 1946) was a Serbian politician and Axis collaborator who served as the mayor of Belgrade from 1941 to 1944, during World War II. He was captured by communist forces on December 11, 1945 i ...

. Rosandić later testified at the Belgrade Process. Rosandić was a member of the

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...

since 1948. He founded a prominent school in Belgrade known as the "Master Workshop". Amongst the many artists and public personalities that frequented the workshop was

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Mo ...

, during his exhibition in Belgrade in March 1955. In his maturity, Rosandić executed two of his greatest masterpieces: the pair of stone statues of a man struggling with a horse, which flank the entrance to the Federal Parliament building in Belgrade (today Parliament of Serbia), and a massive stone frieze of figures for a monument in

Subotica Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Subotica is ...

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

(1952). Many of his bronze projects at this time were cast in the

Voždovac Voždovac ( sr-cyr, Вождовац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 158,213 inhabitants. The municipality is located in the south-central part of the urban ...

foundry and other works by his hand can be found at the Toma Rosandić Memorial Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade. Rosandić returned to

before his death in 1958.

References

External links

Biography (''Croatian'')

Biography and works

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosandic, Toma 19th-century Serbian sculptors 20th-century Serbian sculptors 1878 births 1958 deaths Male sculptors Yugoslav sculptors Actors from Split, Croatia People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia 20th-century sculptors 19th-century Serbian people 20th-century Serbian people Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Burials at Lovrinac Cemetery Emigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the Kingdom of Serbia