Pobednik
Pobednik | |
---|---|
Location | Belgrade Fortress, Belgrade |
Coordinates | 44°49′22.9″N 20°26′51.7″E / 44.823028°N 20.447694°E |
Height | 14 metres (46 ft) |
Dedicated | 7 October 1928 |
Sculptor | Ivan Meštrović |
Pobednik (
It is a standing bronze male figure
The statue was removed from the column in October 2019 for repairs. It was returned on the pedestal after the restoration on 14 February 2020.
History
Origin
The history of the monument goes back to the period between 1913 and 1928, even though the initial idea was born in 1912, when Serbia's success in the First Balkan War inspired proposals for erecting a monument in Belgrade to honour the final victory over the Ottomans. In August 1913 Belgrade city council made the decision to mark this momentous event by erecting a monument to Victory. Headed by the mayor Ljubomir Davidović, the council decided to rename the Terazije square and build the fountain with the monument in it. They also awarded the construction of the monument to Meštrović, without architectural competition.[4]
Meštrović accepted the job and quickly presented his design.[4] The original concept was that of a monumental fountain which was to be placed in Terazije or what then was the Square of Crown Prince Alexander.[5] The fountain was to be built of stone in the form of an oval basin, with 8 m (26 ft) in diameter, resting on the backs of four lions. At the centre of the basin was to be a marble column surmounted by the 5 m (16 ft)-tall statue of the Victor. According to the city council resolutions of 4 October 1913 Meštrović was also to produce twenty masks for the rim of the basin and fifty masks for the column, all in bronze. The column was to have 5 segments, representing 5 centuries of Ottoman occupation.[2] On 19 October 1913[4] the city contracted with Meštrović and he set to work on the fountain but, being an Austro-Hungarian subject, he had to leave Belgrade at the outbreak of the World War I.
Construction
Background information about the fountain and its more detailed description were brought out by the newspaper Vreme:[6] ...a large basin (shell) the outer side of which would be decorated with a relief depicting warriors on galloping horses. Affixed along the rim of the shell would be lion’s heads (from the present-day jet fountain) spouting water into the shell. [...] The column would be girdled with spaced hoops to which Turkish head masks would be affixed, and each would spout a jet of water into the basin below...
In order to finish the work as quickly possible, Meštrović moved his studio to Belgrade. He worked in the semi-basement of the
Meštrović's statue of the Victor was done in 1913,[9] immediately after and as a continuation, in concept and style, of the cycle of sculptures intended for his large-scale project for a shrine commemorating the Battle of Kosovo (Vidovdanski hram), which includes representative sculptures such as Srdja Zlopogledja, Miloš Obilić and Marko Kraljević. Conceived as a colossal athletic male nude set up on a tall column, the monument symbolically represents the iconic figure of victory. In iconographic terms, the personification of the triumph of a victorious nation can be traced back to classical antiquity and its mythic hero Hercules.[9]
Then the First World War broke out. The Austrian ultimatum forced Meštrović to leave Belgrade and almost all finishing works had to be ceased. During the occupation by Austrian, German and Hungarian troops, all was destroyed except for the statue of the Victor and lion masks, which were away in Bohemia for casting.[2][4] The exact appearance of the fountain is known from the photographs of Meštrović's original drawings taken in his Zagreb studio by the sculptor Veselko Zorić.[10]
The project of erecting the fountain in Terazije was revived after the First World War, but the available funds could only cover the casting costs for the Victor and lion masks.[11] The statue arrived in Belgrade in the late July 1923 and was stored in a storehouse for plumbing pipes in Senjak.[4][9] Yet, in 1923 the city council and Meštrović reached an agreement that he should do the monument in Terazije, but the sculpture remained in the storehouse for the next 4 years.[4]
Scandal
However, the beginning of preparation works for the monument's foundation in May 1927 caused a public controversy. The public challenged the erection of the monument on moral and artistic grounds. Instigated by the author and jurist Petar Odavić, the campaign against the monument began. Odavić published an article in the Vreme magazine, attacking the sculpture claiming it insults the moral of chaste Belgrade ladies, so as the memory on Serbian soldiers which it was to represent, by not having "symbols of the Serbian soldiers", like the šajkača hat or the opanak footwear, and that it doesn't represent a Serbian hero but rather some ancient one. Still, the design was endorsed by numerous members of Serbian academia, like Bogdan Popović, Stevan Hristić, Branislav Petronijević, Ksenija Atanasijević, Zora Petrović, Beta Vukanović or Stanislav Krakov, but also by certain women organizations and parts of the clergy.[4][8] Division among public, elite and church soon gained political connotation. There were various, jokingly suggestions, like the proposition for the super-high pedestal so that its nudity won't be visible from the ground or that, since it is already nude, it may be placed in a swimming pool.[2]
Meštrović also had his say:[12] Belgrade City Council asked my consent to set up the “Victor” in Terazije temporarily. But aware that our “temporarily” tends to last too long, I have made an agreement with the Belgrade architect Bajalović for a more solid pedestal for the statue. The Council, so I’ve heard, set to work. And then stopped. What have I to say? If they intend to set up the statue in Terazije, let them set it up. If they have found a better place, let them set it up there. After all, it may as well stay where it has been for all this time – in a shed. As far as I am concerned, I’d like it best to have the opportunity to do the whole Fountain the way it was originally conceived.
Especially vocal against it were the members of several female organizations. They considered the placing of a figure of a nude man in the center of the city is "rude" and that it will damage the moral of the girls.
Recent history
Measurements from 1989 showed that the "Victor" is partially standing on the embankment and partially on the medieval rampart, which is why it is tilting. The technical documentation for the pedestal is lost so the Institute for the protection of the cultural monuments has done its own research. It showed that the core of the pedestal is made of concrete while from the outside it has been slab-sided with the stone. The monument was partially repaired in the 1989–1991 period.[2][9] Within this project, in 1990 it was cleaned from the graffiti and dirt.[8]
In 1996, the Institute tried to improve the static of the monument and to stop further tilting, but eventually unsuccessfully. The foundations were strengthened and the piles were placed to prevent the tilting. Still, the monument hasn't been fully straightened and remained in partially tilted position, as the piles were pushed into the soft section of the rampart and the subsidence of the terrain continued. Researches in 2007–2009 showed that it was tilted 0.8 mm (0.031 in).[2][8][9]
In 2015, when the broken plates were being removed and replaced at the foothill of the statue, it was discovered that the earth beneath is sagging. The measurements were conducted and an underground room, dug in the 1950s, was discovered beneath the plateau. That delayed the works on the plateau itself, which were finished in September 2016: the new marble plates were placed, so as the decorative lights, while the problem of draining the atmospheric waters was solved, but the monument itself (both the pedestal and the sculpture) were not renovated.[9] That same year the Belgrade University Civil Engineering Faculty concluded that the "tilting is a process which continues and shows no signs of slowing down or stopping".[2]
In September 2017, it was reported that there is a crack on the monument. The crack starts from beneath the Victor's left foot, goes over the
On 9 May 2018 on the occasion of Europe Day, the Victor was illuminated for the first time with the colours of EU – blue and yellow (stars) – thanks to the EU Delegation in Serbia.
2019-2020 reconstruction
On 28 August 2019 preparatory works on the repair began. The base construction will be fixed first, in order to prevent micro movements and to straighten up the monument. The slabs and plates will be removed so that new piles and beams could be placed below. On 10 October 2019 the statue itself was removed and transported to Smederevo, where sculptor Zoran Kuzmanović will repair it.[14] For the first time since it was posted in 1928, the statue was physically removed from its pedestal. When it was lowered to the ground, it was shown that the statue remained attached to the pedestal only by one screw and the lightning rod wire, while the cables which connected the statue to the base from the inside completely, all four of them, rotted and disappeared. It was also established that the sculpture was lighter than previously thought: it was estimated to be 1.5 to 1.7 tons, but it turned out it has only 1 ton. The sculpture was exhibited for a while at Tsarigrad Road, path in the Kalemegdan Park and former starting point of the road which connected Belgrade to Constantinople.[15]
Kuzmanović also headed the repairs of another Fortress landmark, the Monument of Gratitude to France, in 2018. The sculpture has never been repaired since the unveiling. In time it turned black, with only patches of preserved green copper patina. The inner construction of the statue and its connection to the pedestal will also be replaced as, at the time, they were made of iron which corroded in time. The top of the pedestal, on which the sculpture stands, will be completely replaced. Deadline is set for February 2020.[8]
The stone slabs used originally were from
After transportation to Smederevo, it turned out that the statue is even in the worse condition than previously estimated, including terrible statics and loosened sword and eagle. A construction made of stainless steel was added inside the sculpture, to properly connect it to the pedestal.[17] Also, it was discovered that part of the tombstone was embedded into the base. Tombstone probably originated from the Old Cemetery, the 19th cemetery in Tašmajdan. The cemetery was relocated by 1927 to the Belgrade New Cemetery and the remaining tombstones were reused for various construction works around the city. The stone will be preserved and exhibited.[18][19] Though this was the usual practice in the Balkans in general (the old, reused materials are called spolije), art historians are surprised that a tombstone was used as the pedestal.[16]
Due to the high concentration of
To prevent further tilting of the column and to make static of the foundation firmer, eight rebar bars were drilled into the ground. Each has a diameter of 40 mm (1.6 in) and an average length of 10 m (33 ft).[23] Their purpose is not to straighten the column, only to make it more stable, so it will remain tilted. The column was cleaned from soot and the cracks in it, some up to 15 cm (5.9 in) deep, were filled.[20] The sculpture had a total of almost 100 dents and in the end weighted a half of ton more than before the restoration.[24]
The statue was returned on the column on 14 February 2020. Works on the column itself and on the surrounding plateau continued until the complete reconstruction was finished on 5 March 2020.[25]
Assessment
Though monument's position and design may be interpreted in a way that he is "guarding" the city, and its present function as a major symbol of Belgrade, art historians tend to believe that, due to the scandals following its construction, the monument is placed on present location, on such a high pedestal and turned away from the city in order "not to be seen better, but to be seen less".[8]
After the creation of a
The simple design of the pedestal and its well-proportioned height made it possible to take in the monument as a whole rather than in detail, which resulted in the desired monumentality and the perception of the monument as a sign or a symbol. Over time the Victor has become one of the most salient symbols of Belgrade. Along with the Monument of Gratitude to France, it belongs to the few public monuments erected between the two world wars in Belgrade which pursued contemporary stylistic trends. The Victor Monument was designated as a cultural heritage property in 1992.[26]
Gallery
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See also
- Tourism in Serbia
- Protected Monuments of Culture (Serbia)
Sources
- Duško Kečkemet, Život Ivana Meštrovića 1883.–1962.–2002 (Zagreb 2009).
- Danijela Vanušić, “Podizanje spomenika Pobedi na Terazijama” Nasledje IX (Belgrade 2008), 193–210.
- Radina Vučetić-Mladenović, “Pobednik: polemike uoči postavljanja Meštrovićevog spomenika”, Godišnjak za društvenu istoriju VI: 2 (1999), 110–123.
- CHPIB Documentation
References
- ^ "City of Belgrade – Famous Monuments". www.beograd.rs. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Branka Vasiljević, Branka Jakšić (22 October 2018). "Počinju pripreme za obnovu "Pobednika"" [Preparations for the reconstruction of "Pobednik" began]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
- ^ CHPBI Documentation.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Branko Bogdanović (16 September 2018). "Градоначелник коме је пресео "Победник"" [Mayor who got fed up with the "Pobednik"]. Politika-Magazin, No. 1094 (in Serbian). pp. 28–29.
- ^ Danijela Vanušić, “Podizanje spomenika Pobedi na Terazijama” Nasledje IX (Belgrade 2008), 193–210.
- ^ M. Popović, “Kako ce izgledati Meštrovićev Pobednik na Terazijama?”, Vreme, 12 May 1927.
- ^ Milenija Simić Miladinović (27 August 2017), "OŠ "Kralj Petar Prvi" dočekuje 300. generaciju đaka", Politika (in Serbian)
- ^ a b c d e f g Ana Vuković (28 August 2019). ""Pobednik" odlazi na oporavak u Smederevo" ["Victor" goes to Smederevo for recovery]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 16.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Branka Vasiljević (16 September 2017), ""Pobedniku" puca pod nogama", Politika (in Serbian), p. 1 & 15
- ^ M. Radošević, “Meštrovićevi crteži terazijske fontane”, Politika, 14 December 1988.
- ^ On the history of and the debate over the erection of the Victor monument after the First World War see Duško Kečkemet, Život Ivana Meštrovića 1883.–1962.–2002 (Zagreb 2009), 437–443; Radina Vučetić-Mladenović, “Pobednik: polemike uoči postavljanja Meštrovićevog spomenika”, Godišnjak za društvenu istoriju VI:2 (1999), 110–123.
- ^ Gustav Krklec, “Sa g. Jovanom Dučićem u Zagrebu kod Ivana Meštrovića”, Politika, 14 July 1927.
- ^ a b Branka Vasiljević (10 September 2019), "Ispitivanje temelja "Pobednika"" [Survey of "Pobednik"'s fondation], Politika (in Serbian), p. 14
- ^ "Pobednik skinut sa postolja, građani mogli da ga vide do 15 sati". Danas. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ^ Branka Vasiljević (11 October 2019). "Победник" на поправци ["Pobednik" at the repair]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 1 & 14.
- ^ a b c Branka Vasiljević (18 October 2019). Скулптуру "Победника" напали зелена патина и чађ [Sculpture of "Pobednik" under the attack of green patina and soot]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
- ^ N1 Beograd (17 October 2019). "Vajar zadužen za restauraciju: Pobednik u gorem stanju nego što se mislilo" [Sculptor in charge of restoration: Pobednik in worse shape than we thought] (in Serbian). N1.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Mladen Savatović (17 October 2019). "Pobednik na "podmlađivanju", restauratori kažu - biće popravljen, ne modifikovan" [Pobednik on "rejuvenation", restorators say it will be repaired, not modified] (in Serbian). N1.
- ^ RTS, Večernje Novosti (18 October 2019). "Otkrivena misterija kamena ispod Pobednika - nadgrobni spomenik sa Tašmajdana" [Mystery of the stone beneath Pobednik revealed - tombstone from Tašmajdan] (in Serbian). N1.
- ^ a b c Branka Vasiljević (30 January 2020). "Победник" од Светог Трифуна поново на Београдској тврђави ["Pobednik" again in the Belgrade Fortress after Saint Trifun's Day]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
- ^ Branka Vasiljević (28 November 2019). "Победнику" поправљен нос [Pobednik's nose fixed]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
- ^ N1 Beograd (27 November 2019). "Tokom restauracije otkrivena greška na "Pobednikovom" nosu" [During the reconstruction, a glitch on Pobednik's nose was discovered] (in Serbian). N1.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Daliborka Mučibabić, Ana Vuković (9 January 2020). ""Pobednik" se vraća na tvrđavu pre Sretenja" ["Pobednik" returns before Sretenje]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
- ^ Branka Vasiljević (14 February 2020). ""Pobednik" je sada jači nego pre 92 godine" ["Pobednik" is now stronger than 92 years ago]. Politika (in Serbian). pp. 1 & 15.
- ^ Branka Vasiljević (6 March 2020). "Победник" без скела ["Pobednik" without scaffolds]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
- ^ Službeni list grada Beograda, no. 26/92