Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander II and Crown Princess Katherine attended the opening of the exhibition “La Grande Iza – Vlaho Bukovac” of The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection at Serbian Army Gallery this evening in Belgrade.

The exhibition was opened by Mr. Slavisa Grujic, vice president of Vojvodina Government and Secretary of Culture and Public Information, Mr. Slavoljub M. Markovic, director of Media center “Odbrana” and Dr. Jasna Jovanov, Director of The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection.

Opening was also attended by H.E. Mr. Gordan Markotic, ambassador of Croatia, H.E. Mr. Johannes Eigner, ambassador of Austria, representatives of Serbian Army, and other distinguished guests.  

The exhibition “La Grande Iza – Vlaho Bukovac” at the Serbian Army Gallery will be open from September 17 until November 2, 2013. This painting will be displayed for the first time in Belgrade after fifty years since it was donated to Novi Sad Memorial Collection. It is also the first public display of the painting after it has been restored at “Matica Srpska” Gallery.

The painting was displayed for the first time at Paris Spring Salon in 1882. It was marked as “sensational” by the Paris press of that time. This “poem to a lusty woman” was chosen among 2,722 art works to be exhibited at the entrance to the Salon.

In 1882 it was bought by an unknown Englishman and then in 1913 by Richard LeDoux, an industrialist from West Derby near Liverpool. Pavle Beljanski bought the painting at an auction in L’ Hôtel Drouot in Paris, 18 March 1929, under the title of Odalisque at the Toilette. “La Grande Iza” was declared a National treasure in 1948. He gave it to the Memorial Collection and through a Donation Contract on 27 May 1965 established a prize for “students of the Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Art History, for the best graduation and seminar papers.” Since 1966 it is on display in The Pavle Beljanski Memorial within The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection.

There are five paintings of Vlaho Bukovac that are part of the Royal Compound in Dedinje Art collection – “Portrait of a young bride”, two female Nudes, “Contrition” and “Pink dream”.

The 46th Award of The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection will be presented November 2, the closing day of the exhibition.