Famous women
Olivera Lazarević, Čučuk Stana, Katarina Ivanović, Vilhelmina (Mina) Karadzić Vukomanović, Isidora Sekulić
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OLIVERA LAZAREVIĆ (unofficially 1373-1444), sacrificed for her people. Princess Olivera was the youngest daughter of Prince Lazar and Princess Milica. Intelligent, educated, ambitious, self-assured, and energetic. After the Battle of Kosovo she was presented to Sultan Bayezid as a pledge of peace between Turkey and Serbia. She was one of Bayezid's four official wives and the fact that she neither bore his children, nor changed her Orthodox faith is evident proof of his love for her. She often used her place in the harem and the Sultan's heart to help her suffering people and country. As a result of her influence on Bayezid and his great respect for her mother Milica and brother Stefan, Serbia enjoyed a more favorable position than other Balkan vassal states.
ČUČUK STANA (1795-1849), Serbian female hajduk. Beautiful and courageous, a woman before her time. Hajduk Veljko Petrovic loved her and she loved battle and warfare. She was given the nickname "çocuk" (boy, lad) as a result of her slight and fragile physique. Stana met Hajduk Veljko in the home of the abbot of Negotin. Alongside Veljko she fought the Ottoman army, defended Negotin, and was heavily wounded four times. She wielded a rifle like a true warrior, was an excellent markswoman and rode a horse with great skill and alacrity.
KATARINA IVANOVIĆ (1811-1882), the first Serbian woman painter. She painted portraits, still life, historical compositions. Her paintings, such as the Portrait of Princess Persida Karadjordjević, Self-Potrait, and A Basket of Grapes are among the best examples of classicism. She studied the fine arts in Budapest and Vienna, lived in Paris for a certain period and then returned to her native Székesfehérvár in Hungary. She left her paintings to the National Museum in Belgrade, where they were transferred after her death. In 1876 she was nominated first honorary member of the Serb Scienti‘c Society (today Serb Academy of Science and Art). Mesmerized by her beauty and intellect, the poet Sima Milutinović dedicated the poem "Triple Sisterhood" to her. Devoted to her art, Katarina never married and died in her birthplace in 1882. Her remains were brought to Belgrade in 1967. She painted 38 paintings.
VILHELMINA (MINA) KARADZIĆ VUKOMANOVIĆ (1828 -1894), daughter of Vuk Stefanovic Karadžić, his favorite and his right arm, writer, painter, polyglot, she translated from German to French, Italian, English, and Serbian. She painted some fifty oil portraits, watercolors, and chalk drawings and never signed her paintings. She translated "Serb Folk Tales" from German and prepared the "Serb Dictionary" for publication. Vuk's home in Vienna was frequented by the most learned people of that age, including royalty. Mina left notes of private and business meetings with prominent figures such as the Grimm brothers and the historian Ranke, who did much for Serb culture. Her life resembled an ancient Greek drama.
ISIDORA SEKULIĆ (1877-1958), the most erudite woman of her age, doctor of philosophy, educator, writer, academician. Born in Vojvodina, she spent her youth in Zemun, and reached her full intellectual potential in Belgrade. She probed to the depths of Serb folk language and its artistic expression, considering speech and language to be the showcase of a people's culture. Her intellect delved into every sphere of the human being, she remained free of any literary movement, while her expression was a celebration of Serbian writing. She was the first woman to be granted full membership in the Academy. This nomination officially took place in 1950, although she had been an associate member since 1939.
One of the few friends who sincerely respected her writing was Ivo Andrić.
She wrote novels, stories, essays, literary criticism: Travel Companions, Letters from Norway, The Deacon of Our Lady's Church, The Chronicle of a Small Town Cemetery, Records, Analytic Moments, The Book of Deep Reverence for Njegoš, Speech and Language as a Display of the Culture of a People…
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