Uroš Predić

Uroš Predić ( sr-Cyrl, Урош Предић, ; Orlovat, 7 December 1857 – Belgrade, 12 February 1953) was a Serbian Realist painter. Along with Paja Jovanović and Đorđe Krstić, he is considered the most important Serbian painter of realism. Predić is best remembered for his early works, in which he depicted the "real" life of ordinary people. Later, he made a great contribution in church painting and portraits. Predić's opus includes a total of 1658 works.

Biography

He was born in Orlovat, and attended primary school in Crepaja. After finishing his secondary education in Pančevo (this school was later named after him), he went to Vienna to study at the academy in 1876. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts of Vienna in 1880. He studied in the class of professor Christian Griepenkerl, who also taught Predić's contemporary Paja Jovanović. During his studies, he received the Gundel's prize – for a male model painting in oil. In 1882, he worked in private studio of professor Grieppenkerl, and in the period from 1883 to 1885 he was an assistant professor of the Department of Antiquity at the Art academy in Vienna. During that time, under the instruction of professor Grieppenkerl, and the architect Theophil Freiherr von Hansen, he painted 13 wall paintings of ancient, historical and mythological compositions for the frieze in the House of Lords at the Reichsratsgebäude (Imperial Council Building) in Vienna.

In 1885, he returned to Orlovat, where he painted a series of paintings about the life of his fellow villagers. After that, from 1886 to 1889, he lived in Belgrade, and from 1890 to 1893 in Novi Sad and Stari Bečej. From 1894 to 1909, Predić lived in Orlovat, and from 1909, until his death, he lived and worked in Belgrade. The first exhibition of his paintings was in 1888 in Belgrade. He was elected to the group of painters who represented Serbia at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. In a small gallery he presented the 8 oil paintings. Although the French critics did not recognize his work Predić will become very popular in Serbia, especially because of the sense of humor shown in some works. He had many exhibitions, both in Serbia and aboard. Later his output was mainly portraits and icons.

He was one of the founders of the ''"Lada" society'' in 1904 (alongside Beta Vukanović, Marko Murat, Đorđe Jovanović, Simeon Roksandić), and became its president. He was elected as associate member of the Serbian Royal Academy on 26 January 1909, and on 3 February 1910 as a regular member. Predić exhibited his artworks as a part of Kingdom of Serbia's pavilion at International Exhibition of Art of 1911. He was one of the founders of the Society of painters in Belgrade in 1919, and was its first president. Predić painted the icons for the Bečej orthodox church, and the icons for the chapel of Bogdan Dunđerski. He died in 1953 in Belgrade, at the age of 95. He was buried in Orlovat.

Uroš Predić's studio, where he painted his most valuable works in the period of 1909-1953, is located at 27 Svetogorska Street in Belgrade.

Works

Some of his famous works include ''Merry brothers'', ''Orphan (on mother's grave)'', the historical painting ''Bosnia-Herzegovinian fugitives'' and perhaps his most recognizable ''Kosovo Maiden''. Predić also painted the famous portraits of the presidents of Serbian academy:
Sima Lozanić, Stojan Novaković (1920), Jovan Žujović (1921), Jovan Cvijić (1923), Slobodan Jovanović (1930), Bogdan Gavrilović (1935) Aleksandar Belić (1940). He also painted portraits of Michael I. Pupin, Laza Kostić, Mihailo Petrović Alas (1943), Ksenija Atanasijević (1917), Branislav Petronijević (1911) amongst others.

Several of Predić's drawings, sketches, and portraits were stolen and never recovered.

Gallery

File:Bice belaja, U. Predic.jpg, Copy of ''Going to Be Trouble'' (1886) published in ''Nova iskra'' (1899); the original has never been recovered.
File:Merry brothers 1887.jpg, '' Happy Brothers'', painting, 1887
File:Uroš Predić - Siroče.jpg, ''Orphan on Mother's Grave'', painting, 1888
File:Hercegovački begunci, Uroš Predić.jpg, ''Refugees from the Herzegovina Uprising'', painting, 1889
File:"Watering of Dodola" by Uroš Predić, published in magazine "Orao" in 1892.jpg, ''Watering of Dodola'', painting, ''Orao'' magazine, 1892
File:St. Nikola and Patriarch Lukijan.jpg, ''The Turbulent Sea'', painting, 1910
File:Kosovo Maiden, Uroš Predić, 1919.jpg, ''Kosovo Maiden'', painting, 1919
File:Sveti Sava blagosilja Srpčad, Uroš Predić, 1921.jpg, ''Saint Sava Blesses Serb Youth'', 1921
File:Nacrt povelje Kola srpskih sestara, Uroš Predić.tif, Circle of Serbian Sisters Charter, 1922
File:Queen Natalia Obrenovic of Serbia in Paris by Uros Predic.jpg, Queen Natalia Obrenović of Serbia
File:King Alexander I of Yugoslavia by Uroš Predić.jpg, King Alexander I of Yugoslavia by Uroš Predić
File:Uroš Predić - Jovan Jovanović Zmaj, GMS.png, Jovan Jovanović Zmaj
File:Uroš Predić - Pesnik Laza Kostić, GMS.png, Laza Kostić
File:Stojan Novaković, portrait by Uroš Predić.jpg, Stojan Novaković
File:Jovan Žujović, Uroš Predić.jpg, Jovan Žujović
File:Jovan Cvijić, Uroš Predić.jpg, Jovan Cvijić
File:Uroš Predić - Mihailo Pupin. gms.png, Mihailo Pupin
File:Portret Pere Dobrinovića, Uroš Predić, 1921.jpg, Pera Dobrinović
File:Slobodan Jovanović, by Uroš Predić (1931).jpg, Slobodan Jovanović

See also

* Serbian art
*Paja Jovanović
*Đorđe Krstić

References

External links

Icons in Bečej church

{{DEFAULTSORT:Predic, Uros
1857 births
1953 deaths
People from Zrenjanin
Realist painters
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia
19th-century Serbian painters
Serbian male painters
20th-century Serbian painters
19th-century Serbian male artists
20th-century Serbian male artists
Painters from Austria-Hungary