Historical Painting in the Oeuvre of Bela Čikoš Sesija: from Arrival of the Croats to The Last Bogomils

Abstract

The paper discusses historical painting of national subject matter in the oeuvre of Bela Čikoš Sesija. On the basis of known and some less known works (such as the so-called Arrival of the Croats or the Hunting Scene, Nikola Šubić Zrinski, Trenck’s Pandours, Baptism of the Croats and The Last Bogomils), the author emphasises general features of Čikoš’s approach to historical themes and motifs, with interpretations based on previous scholarly and professional research and considered within a specific biographical, cultural, national and political context. Finally, Čikoš’s historical scenes are analysed in the light of gradual negation of classical academic image and of strengthening of symbolic tendencies in art.

Keywords

• historical painting
• Bela Čikoš Sesija
• Nikola Šubić Zrinski
• Trenck’s pandours
• Bogomils
• Symbolism