Typology of public figural sculpture in the Kingdom of Serbia (1882-1914)

Abstract

Typology of the Serbian contemporary figurative sculpture in public space was based on certain foundations. The subject of public figurative sculpture in the Kingdom of Serbia is limited by historical duration of the young Serbian monarchy. The monumental forms and sculptural figurative expressions that had been previously created cannot be placed in a clear narrative on the planned and organised placement of figurative sculptures in public spaces, which shows that sculpture was positioned in a wider social and political life of the community. Reducing a wider notion of monuments to the level of figurative artefacts brought about their association with antique roots that had entered the modern European culture through Renaissance. Lying at the core of this concept are anthropomorphic representations of great community members, allegorical personifications and symbolic images. Figurative statue, as the essence of the humanistic concept of the public sculpture sublimated wider social, cultural and ideological determinants of the time. Visual expressions of didactic and moralising character served as evidence of a planned transformation of the cultural and political habitus of the community. The origins of the typology of the contemporary Serbian figurative sculpture can be traced to the unveiling of the equestrian statue of the Prince Mihailo Obrenović in Belgrade in 1882. The grand multimedia spectacle around the unveiling of the monumental statue symbolically confirmed the power of the visual language serving the purpose of representative culture. Its dynastic character defined a group of monuments with an emphasized monarchy-related content. Their character materialised the idea of glorifying the monarchical principle, demonstrating the power and vitality of the governing Obrenović and Karađorđević dynasties. Municipal types of figurative monuments fall into a separate group. Erected at the initiative of the government, civil and cultural associations, they materialised the growing power of the liberal citizenship, serving the purpose of emancipation of the young Serbian nation. Frequently without visible national elements, these monuments were defined as the national agents of the first order during the act of unveiling that brimmed with patriotism. Mostly shaped in the form of busts, these figurative expressions defined the ideals of citizenship. The category of national monuments can also include allegorical personifications of the nation and symbolic national representations. Images of mother Serbia and the gousle-player, a typical national musician, manifested the national spirit of the citizenship and its various substructures. The sublimation of these principles is reflected in the idea of a fountain to be installed in Terazije Square with Meštrović's Victor as its centrepiece. A monumental artefact designed to signify the victorious return of the Serbian army from the Balkan wars, sublimated decades long development of style and content of the figurative monuments in the Kingdom of Serbia, defining various types and their blend in the media landscape and public space in 1882-1914.