The Conquest of Belgrade

According to David A. Norris, a scholar specializing in Serbian cultural history, conditions in 19th-century Serbia were unsuitable for the development of visual art. Materials were difficult to come by, studio and exhibition spaces were virtually non-existent, and there were no art patrons willing to financially support painters and purchase their finished works. In the first half of the 19th century, Serbian visual artists dedicated themselves almost exclusively to decorating the walls of churches and producing icons and other religious objects. There were some painters of Serb heritage living outside Serbia, such as Uroš Knežević and Jovan Popović, who resided in the Austrian Empire.^[3]

Another one of these artists was the romanticist Katarina Ivanović, who was born in Székesfehérvár in either 1811 or 1817, and was the first significant Serbian female painter. She left Székesfehérvár around 1835 and went to Budapest to study painting under the master Jozsef Pesky. She remained in Budapest for much of 1835. Later that year she found a patron, a baroness by the name of Czacki. In late 1835, the baroness funded Ivanović's move to Vienna. Precisely what her training entailed is unknown, but since women were not admitted into the Academy of Fine Arts at the time, it is likely that Ivanović was classified as a "special student" and tutored privately. Some scholars have suggested that she studied under Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, though this cannot be established with any degree of certainty since most documents pertaining to her time in Vienna were destroyed in subsequent wars.^[4]

An oil on canvas, the painting measures 157 by 188.5 centimetres (61.8 by 74.2 in).^[1] It depicts the capture of Belgrade by Serbian revolutionaries in late 1806, during the First Serbian Uprising.^[2] This proved to be one of the defining battles of the insurrection.^[5] On 29 November 1806, Karađorđe's rebels launched their biggest attack on the city. A small force led by Uzun Mirko spearheaded the assault, seizing the city gates that faced the Sava River. According to legend, one of Mirko's men climbed atop an Ottoman cannon by the gate, signalling that the gate was in the rebels' hands and that the main force led by Vasa Čarapić should attack the Stambol Gate. Čarapić was killed in the ensuing charge, but the attack was ultimately successful, and the Ottomans surrendered the city.^[6]

Ivanović had left Vienna in 1840 and gone to study at the Munich Academy, possibly owing to Czacki's further generosity.^[7] Subsequent statements suggest that Ivanović was inspired to paint The Conquest of Belgrade around this time. Writing in 1873, she recalled how the painting came about:

While studying at the Munich Academy, I started to read History of the Serb People. I wanted to paint the brave battle of Mirko on my canvas. With seven of his comrades he succeeded in entering the city at night while the Muslims were celebrating Bajram (Eid al-Fitr) and didn't even think about any danger. Mirko and his comrades killed the guards at the town gate. Their rifle shots were the signal for the others.^[5]

Ivanović soon travelled to Belgrade, visited the battle site, conversed with some of the participants in the city's capture, and examined period clothing and weaponry used in the battle. The painting was composed between 1844 and 1845.^[5] It was painted in Belgrade.^[2]