'Retrospective' section in the Serbian Pavilion at the 1911 Universal Exposition in Rome: An artistic cross-section of the period

Abstract

The emphasis in the works dealing with the subject has always been put on the highlights of the day, i.e., on the Kosovo fragments and Marko Kraljević cycle as represented mostly by Ivan Meštrović's sculptures. Lacking stylistic and thematic unity of the 'historical' segment, another, 'retrospective' section has not been as attractive either for the contemporary or subsequent interpretations. However, it may have a peculiar value from the actual perspective insofar as it appears as a cross-section of the Serbian art of the epoch. .

Veoma zanimljiv nastup srpske države na međunarodnoj sceni 1911. godine u Rimu i ranije je privlačio pažnju istraživača. Politička težina koju je ovaj događaj imao uticala je na to da je naglasak, i u prošlosti i danas prevashodno stavljan na tzv. 'istorijski' deo izložbe (ciklus Kraljevića Marka i Kosovski fragmenti), uglavnom predstavljen delima Ivana Meštrovića. Zato se u ovom radu veća pažnja posvećuje onom 'retrospektivnom' delu izložbe koji, mada lišen prave koncepcije i neujednačenog kvaliteta, predstavlja presek likovnog života epohe.