Mihailo (Michael) Obrenović III (1823-1868) was prince of Serbia from 1839-1842 and again from 1860-1868. His first reign ended when he was deposed, and his second when he was assassinated. I'd read somewhere that if a statue's figure is riding a horse with one leg raised, it means that he died of causes other than from a battle, which would be the case here. The more I looked around about this, it seems that it's an urban legend...who knows? In any case, Belgrade's main pedestrian street is named after him. The National Museum behind him was founded in 1844 and houses over 400,000 objects including many foreign masterpieces. The French Art Collection consists of more than 250 paintings, from the 16th to early 20th century including paintings by many major French impressionists such as Renoir and Degas, and several post-impressionists including Gauguin and van Gogh.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Prince Mihailo and the National Museum
Mihailo (Michael) Obrenović III (1823-1868) was prince of Serbia from 1839-1842 and again from 1860-1868. His first reign ended when he was deposed, and his second when he was assassinated. I'd read somewhere that if a statue's figure is riding a horse with one leg raised, it means that he died of causes other than from a battle, which would be the case here. The more I looked around about this, it seems that it's an urban legend...who knows? In any case, Belgrade's main pedestrian street is named after him. The National Museum behind him was founded in 1844 and houses over 400,000 objects including many foreign masterpieces. The French Art Collection consists of more than 250 paintings, from the 16th to early 20th century including paintings by many major French impressionists such as Renoir and Degas, and several post-impressionists including Gauguin and van Gogh.
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THE ROOF CAVED IN....
Well, not the entire roof. Just the back side, which is not visible here. Every year I make a gingerbread house. Notice I said 'made,...
8 comments:
I love the patina of the statue against the reddish brown of the National Museum beyond. How did you get both in such good focus, BTW? And, I had heard similar stories about statue symbolism as a kid. I wonder if there is a definitive guide. I would think such symbols might be regeonalized, but who knows?
-Kim
Seattle Daily Photo
Indeed this is a fine photo!
"Louis" hasn't done an internet search for the story, but he thinks there is, in fact, a symbolism for the way the riders and their legs, boots, etc. are presented in statuary.
The figure symbolism is all news to me! But, then, I'm always the last to know.
Like Kim, I just love the colors and composition in this.
I like colors...
I would like to be there to watch it!!!
You are turning me into a Sebia junket. I am so fascinated! I've been doing lots of internet searches recently on your country... just browsing around and reading a bit. Your comment yeasterday made my jaw drop! You are the grooviest!
I stopped by looking for ABC "D", but I enjoyed this very much
Nice "D" today.
Our "D's" are Done, Click here.
We added a Dragonfly update.
Troy and Martha
I very much like the look of the museum. I was wondering how historical statues have fared in Belgrade over the years (I’m thinking the various wars, the communist-era, the breakup of Yugoslavia etc)? This one seems to have survived.
Re Kris's comment - indeed! "Louis" is currently reading a biography of FDR. Tonight he read a passage about Hitler's destruction of Belgrade and the horrible number of civilian casualties not to mention that most of the city was reduced to rubble.
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