Art collection
The first permanent exhibition of the Military Museum from 1904, which was dominated by the bust of Karađorđeva made of bronze plaster by the academic sculptor Đorđe Jovanović, shows that the importance of works of art in the service of presenting war history was recognized very early in the Military Museum. Nevertheless, the credit for the systematic collection of works of art in the Military Museum belongs to General Vojislav Vuković, who was the director of the Military Museum from 1934 to 1945. How much attention was paid to this collection is also shown by the fact that, in the interwar period, the Military Museum had an Art Committee whose members were academic artists and academics with the task of selecting works in accordance with their artistic qualities and the collection policy of the Military Museum.
Works of art came to the museum through purchases, gifts or orders. The Ministry of the Army and Navy of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia provided considerable financial resources for the purchase of works of art for the Military Museum, which contributed to the creation of a valuable collection in a short time. The fund of the art collection was also increased by gifts that the Military Museum received from institutions and individuals. Among the first donors were the artists themselves and their descendants.
The collection includes works by famous Serbian artists such as: Uroš Knežević, Stevan Todorović, Uroš Predić, Paja Jovanović, Kosta Miličević, Veljko Stanojević, Petar Lubarda, Milo Milunović, Mladen Srbinović; but there are also works by artists who have been unfairly forgotten: Russian painter Vsevolod Guljevic, portraitist Nikola Milojević, painter Mihailo Milovanović.
Within the Art Collection of the Military Museum, there is also an extremely valuable cartographic collection, which includes original geographical and military maps of the XVII, XVIII and XIX centuries, made mainly in the old graphic technique of copper engraving, and then colored by hand. Along with the maps, there is also a valuable collection of vedutas of old cities. They are characterized by high artistic quality, substantive geographical integrity, accuracy of drawn data suitable for the time in which they were created, and exceptional calligraphy and ornamentation.
Works of art came to the museum through purchases, gifts or orders. The Ministry of the Army and Navy of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia provided considerable financial resources for the purchase of works of art for the Military Museum, which contributed to the creation of a valuable collection in a short time. The fund of the art collection was also increased by gifts that the Military Museum received from institutions and individuals. Among the first donors were the artists themselves and their descendants.
The collection includes works by famous Serbian artists such as: Uroš Knežević, Stevan Todorović, Uroš Predić, Paja Jovanović, Kosta Miličević, Veljko Stanojević, Petar Lubarda, Milo Milunović, Mladen Srbinović; but there are also works by artists who have been unfairly forgotten: Russian painter Vsevolod Guljevic, portraitist Nikola Milojević, painter Mihailo Milovanović.
Within the Art Collection of the Military Museum, there is also an extremely valuable cartographic collection, which includes original geographical and military maps of the XVII, XVIII and XIX centuries, made mainly in the old graphic technique of copper engraving, and then colored by hand. Along with the maps, there is also a valuable collection of vedutas of old cities. They are characterized by high artistic quality, substantive geographical integrity, accuracy of drawn data suitable for the time in which they were created, and exceptional calligraphy and ornamentation.
The works of war painters from the period from 1912 to 1918 represent a special value of the art collection. About 500 paintings, sketches and drawings of nineteen war painters were collected. On the numerous Serbian battlefields from Ceres to Thessaloniki, in the period from the fall to the liberation, around forty painters who were mostly soldiers or volunteer nurses created. Painters were assigned to war units, in order to follow life on the front and the operations of the Serbian army. Among the war painters there were also those who created our modern art: Nadežda Petrović, Kosta Miličević, Mihailo Milovanović. Thus, the First World War, despite all the heavy losses it caused, enriched Serbian art with a significant number of masterpieces.
After the Second World War, the Art Collection of the Military Museum was enlarged with works created from 1941 to 1945. This collection, which contains works by active participants of NOR and artists who spent the war years in prison and concentration camps, was acquired through purchase and gifts.
In 1993, the Gallery of the Central Club of the Yugoslav Army donated to the Military Museum 391 works of contemporary art, with the theme of the Second World War, or modern military life, and the works are by important artists from this area, such as: Milo Milunović, Milan Konjović, Miloš Bajić, Radenko Mišević, Boško Risimović.
In 1993, the Gallery of the Central Club of the Yugoslav Army donated to the Military Museum 391 works of contemporary art, with the theme of the Second World War, or modern military life, and the works are by important artists from this area, such as: Milo Milunović, Milan Konjović, Miloš Bajić, Radenko Mišević, Boško Risimović.
The art collection of the Military Museum consists of about three thousand works. The collection covers the period from the 17th century to the modern era. In that long period, which was shaken by wars and stormy historical events, several generations of painters created different stylistic orientations and painting directions. The main theme is wars and military life, and a significant part of the collection is a gallery of portraits of battlefield heroes, military leaders, officers and rulers. Apart from their artistic qualities, the works from the Art Collection represent a very significant testimony about people and events from the past, political, cultural and social contexts in which they were created.
The collection is managed by: PhD Bojana Ilić
The collection is managed by: PhD Bojana Ilić