Collection of Dragoslav Živković from the Homeland Museum of Knjaževac

The collection of the academic painter Dragoslav Živković, an important Serbian contemporary painter, occupies a prominent place in the art collection of the Homeland Museum of Knjaževac.

By Museums of Serbia

Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Serbia

The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac (2021) by The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac and Dragoslav ŽivkovićMuseums of Serbia

This small collection numbers one hundred and sixty-one works and is essential for the Homeland Museum. A number of these works were specifically created for the permanent exhibitions of the Homeland Museum, while the other part, mostly early works, represents a gift from the author. Dragoslav Živković's art works give a visual identity to the exhibitions of the Homeland Museum of Knjaževac, from exhibition spaces to publications and promotional material.

The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac (2021) by The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac and Dragoslav ŽivkovićMuseums of Serbia

The collection is dominated by recognizable drawings, drawn with charcoal on canvas, such as Baranica, The Roman legionaries, Watering of the Ring, Knjaževac, all exhibited in the permanent exhibition of the Museum. There are also smaller format drawings, , drawn with pastel or charcoal on paper, such as several early works - nudes, still lifes, but also a larger format canvas Babin Zub, drawn with pastel in the 90s of the 20th century.

Still life, The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac, Dragoslav Živković, 70s of the XX century, From the collection of: Museums of Serbia
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Self-portrait in the studio, The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac, Dragoslav Živković, 1996, From the collection of: Museums of Serbia
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Portrait of a Woman, The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac, Dragoslav Živković, 70s of the XX century, From the collection of: Museums of Serbia
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Still life, The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac, Dragoslav Živković, 70s of the XX century, From the collection of: Museums of Serbia
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Self-portrait, The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac, Dragoslav Živković, 70s of the XX century, From the collection of: Museums of Serbia
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Portrait, The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac, Dragoslav Živković, 70s of the XX century, From the collection of: Museums of Serbia
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The collection also includes several oils on canvas of still lifes, but also authentic, unusual art works the Patron’s Family and the Carnival. The art works of Dragoslav Živković are exhibited in a special section of the Museum Gallery at Karađorđeva 15 and can be seen at his Virtual Gallery www.dragoslavzivkovic.rs

Baranica (1996) by The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac and Dragoslav ŽivkovićMuseums of Serbia

Baranica

The picture presents the habitat of prehistoric people and the elements of everyday life in the community on the coast on Trgoviški Timok, below the cave on Baranica, not far from Knjaževac. The caveman and his family are presented in the recognizable landscape of the oldest prehistoric site in the Knjaževac area.  The members of the community are presented gathered around the fireplace, with the attributes of hunting and of depicted flora and fauna, based on the remains found during the archaeological excavations of this site.

Romans (1996) by The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac and Dragoslav ŽivkovićMuseums of Serbia

Romans

In front of the gates of Timacum Minus fort, there is a group of Roman legionaries in military war uniform and equipment that surrounds the leader of the triad on horseback - primus vilus. Legionnaires wear spears, shields and Roman helmets. One of the soldiers  - signifer has a lion skin on his head and holds the insignia of the Roman army. To the right of the group of soldiers are two female figures, and to the left are parts of broken ancient pillars.

Singing the ring (1998) by The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac and Dragoslav ŽivkovićMuseums of Serbia

Singing the ring

The picture shows one of the folk customs of the Knjaževac region - singing a ring. In the center of the composition is a group of eight human figures (six girls and one boy) of which one girl has her back to the observer, while in the foreground is a figure of a boy holding a ring in his hands. Among the figures shown, in the picture on the right, behind the back of one of the girls, there is the figure of the author. At the bottom of the composition, in a prominent place, there is a bowl (vessel) with a ring. At the top of the composition are the star Danica and the moon in the last lunar phase. The painting describes a folk custom of predicting destiny related to a wedding.

Knjaževac, The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac, Dragoslav Živković, 2004, From the collection of: Museums of Serbia
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Knjaževac - The picture shows a group of people on the central square in Knjaževac, a former Knjaževac market with recognizable motifs and objects of town architecture. The composition is centrally placed. In the center is a figure of a child with a toy and a cradle behind which stand two women in civic costumes and a man in civic clothes. A group of people was placed in the recognizable ambience of the former town square, or marketplace. On the right, there is the building of the  Hotel Paris demolished at the end of the 70s of the 20th century, in the center is the building of the cafe Nacional, while on the right is a visible part of the old bazaar and the town water spring. The central position of the painting is occupied by outline of the monument dedicated to the fighters who died in the Serbian-Turkish wars, and which was destroyed in the war devastation of Knjaževac.

Babin zub (1993) by The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac and Dragoslav ŽivkovićMuseums of Serbia

Babin zub

The picture shows Babin zub - one of the most famous peaks on the Stara planina Mountain, a rock of a specific shape similar to a tooth. The composition is centrally placed, and the dominant vertical is created by the cloud that covers the rock, below which is a lonely house surrounded by beech forest.

The foreground is dominated by violet "kaćuni" - saffron flowers that form a path that leads to the house and the forest. Among the flowers is an earthen pitcher in the lower right corner. The painting symbolizes the awakening of nature, the inevitable passage of time and the change of seasons. It suggests the former presence of man, people who are no longer living, or who are leaving the villages below the Stara Planina.

Founder’s Family (2012/2020) by The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac and Dragoslav ŽivkovićMuseums of Serbia

Founder’s Family

The picture shows an imaginary representation of a four-member founder’s family of the medieval church of the Blessed Virgin in Donja Kamenica, a village near Knjaževac. In the foreground, opposite the dark background and shown under the canopy of a large tree, there are figures of a man and a woman, unknown lords - founders, in front of whom are girls and boys holding "toys": a girl with a bearded clown and a boy the model of a church.

Parents, dressed in simple white long dresses, have modest aristocratic insignia, cloaks surrounded by cruciform ornaments made of pearls, precious and semi-precious stones. The lord holds his hand above the girl's head as if he wants to bless her, visibly emphasizing his lord's seal ring with that gesture. The landlady wears simple jewellery, a necklace, earrings and a tiara on her forehead. A girl like her mother wears simple jewellery, earrings and a tiara, while a boy has a simple hat, tunic and a  brightly colored cloak.

“Toys” in their hands can be understood as attributes of their future life. The clown as a figure of a predestined husband in a future, politically conditioned and pre-arranged marriage, and the church as an announcement of a possible monastic life of a young lord or successor of the line of founders of Donja Kamenica church, whose lord’s title is confirmed by God.

The Carnival (2006) by The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac and Dragoslav ŽivkovićMuseums of Serbia

The Carnival

On the black surface, centrally placed, there is a group of human figures dressed in modest work clothes from the beginning of the 20th century. The picture shows seven partially masked adults shown in a standing posture, while at the bottom there is a figure shown in a stroller. Some of the men are disguised as women, and some are in boys' suits.

 The group symbolizes a part of the procession that goes, on the occasion of the pre-Christian, pagan carnival, with song, food and drink, laughter and jokes, entertains the people during the farewell holiday before fasting, while ritual actions and fires should protect people from evil forces. Masked characters are surrounded by various objects. Colorful umbrellas, pumpkins, food, fruit, drinks, painting accessories, etc. are shown. The colors are extremely bright. Dominated by yellow and ochre, red and blue.

Knjaževac (1999) by The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac and Dragoslav ŽivkovićMuseums of Serbia

Knjaževac

The central place of the figural composition is occupied by three female figures that can be understood as allegorical representations of the seasons, spring, autumn, summer, but also as symbols of fertility and life. This work of expressed symbolism is filled with recognizable motifs of the town of Knjaževac, city architecture, details from everyday life. There is also a depiction of the river that flows through Knjaževac, the votive cross and other elements that, together with the presented human figures,  share the fate of the centuries-old town on the banks of the river Timok.

Untitled (1972) by The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac and Dragoslav ŽivkovićMuseums of Serbia

Untitled

A picture made in dry pastel on paper shows a portrait of a young red-haired woman in a sitting position. The girl is slightly leaning on her arm and slightly curved body, dressed in a simple light blue blouse and a darker skirt.

Dionysus (2005) by The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac and Dragoslav ŽivkovićMuseums of Serbia

Dionysus

The central place of this figural composition is occupied by the representation of the god Dionysus surrounded by naked female figures Meanada, the representation of Silenus depicted in an imaginary landscape. In the center of the vertically placed composition, there is a naked figure of Dionysus, who stepped towards the observer with his right foot, and holds a bunch in his left hand. To the right of Dionysus are three naked female figures with long flowing hair, whose eyes are fixed on the observer.

Next to them on the ground are a snake, a rose bush and a vine with grapes. To the left of Dionysus are the figure of Silenus with a glass in his hand, and the face of the artist, the image of the artist is visible from the darkness in the background. Below them, three boys are shown as counterparts to female figures. In this picture, the duality of the deity himself, his dual nature, is clearly emphasized, and the left and right sides are opposed, as the sides of good and evil, the male and female principle.

Witches (2009) by The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac and Dragoslav ŽivkovićMuseums of Serbia

Witches

The picture shows centrally positioned two female figures on a full moon night, long flowing hair with bare breasts, with deer antlers, a blade and a bowl. The painting shows the act of witchcraft, with a prominent lunar and feminine principle. A young girl, clad in a white cloak accompanied by a slightly older woman, approaches the performance of a mystical ritual, illuminated by the moonlight. For his magical actions and rituals, he uses a deer's horn, a wooden bowl and a blade inspired by the objects from the museum's ethnographic collection. 

Sisters, The Homeland Museum of Knjaževac, Dragoslav Živković, 1989, From the collection of: Museums of Serbia
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Sisters -  The painting is a symbolic representation of the final parting. The main actors, although distant and without obvious mutual communication, are indicated by the opposition of light and darkness, good and evil, incorruptibility and meanness… The black lady takes the "light" into the darkness, while the lonely, hunched male figure remains with his head bowed. In the lower corner of the picture, a faithful dog, her symbolic companion and guard, curled up next to the young girl in white.

Credits: Story

Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Serbia

Homeland Museum of Knjaževac

The narration was provided by: Milena Milošević Micić, museum advisor art historian.

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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