Stevan "Steva" Todorović ( sr-cyr, Стеван-Стева Тодоровић; Novi Sad, 1832–Belgrade, 1925) was a Serbian painter and the founder of modern

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

and

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a ...

movement in Yugoslavia.

Biography

Todorović was born in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the P ...

and died in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

. He was a correspondent and war painter for a number of domestic and foreign newspapers during the Serbian-Turkish Wars (1876–1878), and became known as the founder of war painting in Serbia. From the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and def ...

, and later

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, ...

, this was no longer an individual occupation but a task subject to state and military regulations. Todorović was close to the Obrenović royal house. He made portraits of almost all members of the royal family, including Natalie of Serbia; his portrait of her helped in making her the "Serbian Mona Lisa". 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. In the course of his long life he created art under various visual poetics, chiefly

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

Academicism Academic art, or academicism or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie ...

. His best works were carried out in the Romantic spirit. His extensive artistic legacy consists of portraits, religious and historical paintings, landscapes, and numerous studies and drawings. Much of his artistic activities is related to Serbia and Belgrade in which cultural and social life he actively participated. He opened the first art school in Belgrade where youngsters learned drawing, singing, fencing, and gymnastic exercises. Owing to a long life and extraordinary tenacity and hard work he managed to create a rich painting opus. Also, Stevan Todorović's work can be found in the collection of

Milan Jovanović Stojimirović Milan Jovanović Stojimirović (Smederevo, Kingdom of Serbia, 19 June 1898 – Belgrad, Serbia, Yugoslavia, 6 March 1966) was a Serbian journalist, diplomat, manager of the Archive of Serbia, and chronicler of Old Belgrade. His vast collection o ...

who bequeathed a large number of paintings, sketches, and artifacts to the Art Department of the Museum in

Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade. According t ...

Gallery

File:Hajduk Veljko, Stevan Todorović.jpg, ''Death of Hajduk-Veljko'', 1850 File:Stevan Todorović - Portrait of Milan Đ. Milićević, 1866.jpg, Portrait of Milan Đ. Milićević,

National Museum of Serbia The National Museum of Serbia ( sr, / ) is the largest and oldest museum in Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in the central zone of Belgrade on a square plot between the Republic Square, formerly Theatre Square, and three streets: Čika Ljubina ...

, 1866 File:Nićifor Dučić, 1874.jpg, Portrait of

Nićifor Dučić Archimandrite Nićifor Dučić ( sr-cyr, Нићифор Дучић; 1832–1900), was a Bosnian Serb theologian, historian, philologist, archimandrite, writer and academic. As Archimandrite of Herzegovina Nićifor Dučić founded the Orthodox ...

, 1874 File:KraljMilanObrenovic.jpg, Portrait of king Milan Obrenović, 1883 File:Reina Natalija de Serbia.jpg, ''Reina Natalija de Serbia'', 1883 File:Stefan Todorovic Polekonia Tolorovitschka.jpg, ''Polekonia Tolorovitschka'', 1889 File:Sabor u Prizrenu pred Kosovsku bitku.jpg, ''Sabor u Prizrenu'', 1899 File:Stevan Todorović, Postriženje Svetog Save (Sveti Sava odriče povratak svome kraljevskom domu), 1907.jpg, ''Postriženje Svetog Save'', 1907 File:KornelijeStankovic NM.jpg, Portrait of composer Kornelije Stanković, 1920 File:Stevan Todorović, Portrait of Prince Mihailo Obrenović, Princess Ljubica's Residence.jpg, Portrait of

Mihailo Obrenović Prince Mihailo Obrenović III of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Михаило Обреновић, Mihailo Obrenović; 16 September 1823 – 10 June 1868) was the ruling Prince of Serbia from 1839 to 1842 and again from 1860 to 1868. His first reign ended w ...

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Todorovic, Steva 1832 births 1925 deaths 19th-century Serbian people 20th-century Serbian people Serbian painters Romantic painters Artists from Novi Sad Artists from Belgrade Serbian male fencers

Biography

Gallery

See also

References

Sources

External links