European and national elements in the realizations of Belgrade architect Dušan Živanović (1853-1937)

Abstract

The subject of this research is the architectural work of the Belgrade architect Dušan Živanović (1853-1937), with the primary focus being placed upon a systematic analysis of European and National elements, their (inter-)relationships and parallel (co-)existence within it. A review of Živanović's works, with individual descriptions and stylistic analyses of key objects, and placing an emphasis on his sacral opus, contributes to its necessary valorization, while at the same time helping to formulate a clearer and more complete picture of its positioning on the domestic architectural scene and its role in the emancipation and development of the architecture of Belgrade and Serbia. Attention is further paid to the explication of the politico-historical and socio-cultural framework in which Živanović lived and worked, with this being utilized as an analytical subtext of the primary subject of study. The methodological framework of this study adopts a synthesis of the biographical and historiographical approaches, with sporadic comparative analyses. Relying on previous research, as well as primary and secondary sources, this study aims to potentially deepen and complement existing analyses, and open up a number of new perspectives and issues that will lead to further elucidation of the topic. This work further presents itself as an important contribution to studies on the Belgrade architectural scene and the distinction and recognition of the dominant creative impulses of the capital and its architects in the design of buildings throughout the Serbian interior.

Keywords

• dušan živanović
• academicism
• hansenatics
• serbo-byzantine style
• serbian architecture
• europeanization
• national style
• emancipation