Sremski Karlovci

The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection has successfully brought together all the important themes in Cuca Sokić’s art: as a great admirer of urban scenery, she painted Parisian and Belgrade motifs with a lot of affection, but her relationship with Sremski Karlovci had a special meaning for her. She often used to spend time there from 1948 onwards and she immortalized the famous Sremski Karlovci High School, the Upper Church, the characteristic spires, gates, streets and alleys in a classical, emotional and intimist way. Owing to this dedication, she was made a honorary citizen of Sremski Karlovci in 1995. The painting from The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection is very precious because, just like the Still‑life from the same period (1950), it represented a turning point in the artist’s opus. The statement that she made about her artistic technique applies to this painting: “I was influenced by French painting, where every expression is based on a visual sensation, and my paintings possess such characteristics to this day.” The painting has retained the characteristic features of the town – the network of slender spires of its baroque churches, the slanted roofs of its houses, the lush greenery and the slopes of the Fruška Gora in the background. However, the way she synthesized form, the flatness and thickness of the paint, the graphic quality of the drawing that accentuates the rhythm of the composition – indicates, above all, Cuca Sokić’s tendency towards simplification and towards harmonic, almost musical cadences liberated from traditional ideals.