The nude is a touchstone for every painter

"The Female Body in the Mirror of a Picture", Dimitrije Popović's new book, is written methodologically consistently, precisely and systematically. Popović's interpretations are interesting and inspiring. The author moves sovereignly through the meanders of art history

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From the promotion in the foyer of the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb, Photo: Private archive
From the promotion in the foyer of the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb, Photo: Private archive
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

The book deals with ways and models of depicting the female body in painting. The nude is a constant in painting, an artistic challenge from the very beginnings of painting. We can call the act a great signifier in which different periods imprinted their meanings and stylistic features. Accompanying text Dimitrija Popović are interdisciplinary cultural-sociological studies on the phenomenon of concentration on the female body in fine art over a long period of time - from Renaissance painting (Botticelli, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian), through the Baroque (Caravaggio, Reni, Rembrandt, Rubens), historical vanguards of the 20th century (Gauguin, Munch, Picasso, Modigliani, Dali, Magritte), up to contemporary art and popular culture (Warhol, Newton, Koons).

Representations of the female body are gathered around thematic units with regard to the object of interest/analysis. The first large unit refers to mythical themes. Different ways of depicting the figure of Venus are analyzed: for example, the Neoplatonist painting by Botticelli "Birth of Venus", Giorgioneovo harmonizing the body and nature on "Sleeping Venus" or Velasquezova sophisticatedly beautiful "Venus in front of the mirror". In the following sections, the painterly emanations of the female figures of Danae (Rembrandt, Klimt), Suzane (Tintoretto, Gentileschi), Eve (Michelangelo, Masaccio, Durer) or Cleopatra (Reni, Bitches). In addition to reproductions of the works of famous painters, the author also adds his own paintings created as a result of an intermedial dialogue and his own contribution to the given theme.

There is no doubt that there is social interest in the work of Dimitrije Popović. Addressing an intriguing topic, the author shows that the painter's fascination with the female body reveals not only deep creative inclinations, but often also some repressed traumas and complexes in the male experience of women. As a painter, Popović always showed extremely intellectual tendencies and in his works strongly relied on cultural memory, both from the distant past and the present. Painting is for him mindset, which he shows in his cultural analyses.

photo: Private archive

The book is written methodologically consistently, precisely and systematically. Popović's interpretations are interesting and inspiring. The author sovereignly moves through the meanders of art history and expertly interprets the creations that best illustrate the theme of fascination with the female body. The canonical works of the old masters, as well as the champions of the European avant-garde, with a special emphasis on heretical gestures and popular-cultural phenomena related to the topic, served as templates for the analysis. Ciccioline and profanation of the female body). The paintings of Croatian artists were also analyzed, such as Miroslav Kraljević or Miljenka Stančić.

In parallel, along with the analysis of classical works from the history of painting, Popović looks back at his works on the same topic, and in the middle are works that often directly dialogue with other people's experiences. We can immediately notice Popović's role models because it is a choice based on the principle of similarity or the experience of closeness. All analyzed works are also reproduced in the book.

Performance "Projection of a living image"
Performance "Projection of a living image"photo: Private archive

The work is written in accessible language and style, but according to the highest standards in the field of art history. The author shows an enviable knowledge of Greek mythology, Old Testament legends and Christian history, which enables him to cover broad thematic lines and deep insights. Well versed in the history of art, as well as contemporary cultural theories, the author explained his theses about the female body in the history of painting in a comprehensive and well-argued manner.

Although the female body in painting has been written relatively often, this is the first systematic and analytically elaborated work on the subject in Croatia. Using carefully selected examples, Dimitrija Popović tries to answer the key question: why the nude is a touchstone for every painter and why it is such a productive driver of artistic creation. Following the different depictions of the female body through time, the author writes a real little history of painting from the Renaissance to the present day.

At the promotion, a performance was held in which Lucija Begić took part
At the promotion, a performance was held in which Lucija Begić took partphoto: Private archive

Most fans of Dimitri Popović's art know that he is not only a painter but also a writer, the author of several notable novels and books of an essay nature. In the book The female body in the mirror image the author proves both his critical competence and interpretative ingenuity.

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