Bronze
62 cm
Sign. on the base, up, left
Inv.No. 34/02
The only preserved artwork by Marija Karađorđević was made after the assassination of King Aleksandar I Karađorđević. The figure of a knight lost in thought, his head bent, with a long cloak and arms resting on the sword was cast in bronze. There are indications that an identical but larger sculpture was also cast, but it disappeared during the Second World War.
Queen Marija Karađorđević – Born as a Princess Maria Hohenzollern of Rumania, the future Queen of Yugoslavia was educated by English teachers at the Rumanian Court. By marrying King Aleksandar Karađorđević on 8 June 1922 she became Queen Marija Karađorđević. She attended classes of painting and sculpting with the Rumanian painter and professor Jan Alexandru Steriadi. After her marriage she moved to Belgrade and continued her sculpting lessons with Iva Despić-Simonović. Queen Marija’s studio was installed in the Thatched House in the Royal Compound. She was particularly interested in portraits but none has been preserved to our days. The Knight in Contemplation is her only sculpture that exists in Belgrade.
Sorce text: B. Crvenkovic, Catalogue of the Art Collection in the Royal Compound in Dedinje II, Yugoslav art, Platoneum, Novi Sad 2014
