Monument of Gratitude from France

After the heroic battles of the Serbian army during the First World War, the retreat of the Serbian military through the territory of Albania and the almost incredible feat of breaking through the Thessaloniki Front , during this critical period a military alliance and friendship between the two sides was created. Representatives of the intelligentsia, close to the Society of former students of the French school, and the Society of Friends of France initiated, in a sign of gratitude for military assistance and assistance in education after the war, in Belgrade or Paris, the erection of the monument as a permanent testimony and pledge of Serbian-French friendship during the greatest trials . In 1924, the Committee for the Erection of the Monument was formed, headed by an eminent doctor, one of the founders of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, Dr. Niko Miljanic (1892-1957). The committee managed to raise significant funds in a short period of time. The history of the monument points to 1921, when the city council decided to erect a gravestone as a sign of gratitude and respect for the French soldiers who died in the defense of Belgrade ^[1] in 1915. After the war, the Kingdom of Serbia ceased to exist. The complex state of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was created, and Belgrade as its capital experienced a period of reconstruction and decoration.

In 1928, the municipality of the city of Belgrade acquired a military site in the Kalemegdan fortress. This site gave way for the construction of a monument “on the most beautiful place in the center of the park in the Kalemegdan fortress, which dominates one of the most beautiful European landscapes, not far from which a house of France will be built” (building of the French embassy ^[2] , 1928-1932). This gesture did not go unnoticed in France. In France, monuments to King Peter I the Liberator and King Alexander I to the Unifier in Paris, monuments to Orleans and Marseille were erected, and one of the main avenues was named in honor of King Peter I.

The project of the monument was entrusted to the world-famous Croatian sculptor Ivan Meshtrovic (Vrpole, now Croatia 1883 - South Bend, Indiana, USA), who executed the sculpture template in his gallery - the workshop “Mesztrovic” ^[3] in Zagreb. The casting of sculpture, in the technique of "casting wax", consisted of fourteen parts and was cast in the Foundry shop of the Academy of Fine Arts in 1930 in bronze. The parts of the sculpture were joined in such a way as to form two halves of a vertically divided sculpture, and then assembled on the spot. The monumental sculpture of more than four meters in height symbolizes France, which hurries to the aid of Serbia. The expressive movement of a strong female figure, as a significant motif of the work of Meshtrovich, expresses and glorifies the national spirit of France with an artificial allegory, suggesting dynamism, leadership, courage and faith. Monumentality, as a characteristic feature of the sculptural expression of the author, is additionally underlined by the massive shape of the central female figure on a seven-meter pedestal made of marble blocks from the island of Brac (in fact, it is white Adriatic limestone). The pyramid structure of the pedestal sets the rhythm, which by gradual increase emphasizes the central scene and provides stylistic unity between the monument and the environment, which is located in accordance with the principles of the French garden. Access to the monument, which is located at the end of the park alley, extending beyond the park and along the main street of Prince Michael III and underlines it as an important visual guide. On the front side is the engraved year of erection and the dedication "A la France" , and on the back side is the inscription "We love France as she loved us 1914-1918." On the sides of the pedestal, at the level of the eye of the viewer, narrative compositions are presented in a bas-relief. These reliefs were made by his students according to the drawings of Meštrović: Frano Krzynic , who observed the work of Antun Avgustinchich , Grga Antunac, Shime Duimich and Orlandini. Reliefs did not extend beyond the pedestal and were its organic part, with cut parts installed with precision, leaving visible seams in the form of Egyptian reliefs. The repeating row of figures in the scene known as “Warriors” on the left side reflects the principle of Isophalia depicting Assyrian archers. This motif, developed by Meshtrovichem through relief and lithography, speaks of the connection between the Serbian and French soldiers on the Thessaloniki front. On the opposite side is made, in a more gentle manner, an allegory of the Sorbonne, which recalls the educational assistance that France provided to the Serbian youth during and after the war. The original sketch of this relief, depicting France as a woman who is breastfeeding Serbian children (currently in the Mestrovic Gallery) was replaced at the suggestion of the Director of the French Institute in Zagreb (Raymond Warnier).

The national symbol of the triumph of the French Republic in the form of the female image of Marianna after the revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy in France is reflected in many works of art - on the relief of Frans Ryd "Volunteers performance" ^[4] at the Triumphal Gate in Paris, she walks ahead of the rebels, like in the famous picture Eugene Delacroix “Freedom Leading the People” ^[5] , dedicated to the Revolution, or in Honoré Daumier’s painting “Republic and Officials” ^[6] , which is located in the Cée d'Orsay Museum, where she is depicted in the form of a mother breastfeeding her x children. These and other similar allegorical images of France in the form of a resolute female figure in the characteristic Phrygian cap, are a clear historical reference and were of great importance for Meštrović when creating the concept of the monument on Kalemegdan.

The stylization of the form and the drama of a sudden breakthrough of the figure on the sculptural expression reminds us of the modern style. The logic of its vigorous forward movement, originating in late Hellenism, is based on placing the full weight of the figure on the left foot and static balance between the dominant planes - between the twisted masses of the upper body with the protruding right shoulder and the long, tight bend of the right leg and the total drape volume and left hand. The layout of the main plans and the lateral arrangement of the reliefs transfers the main aspect of the monument review from the front to the sides. Despite the fact that the lateral aspect is richer in a visual sense, Mestchrovich establishes (ideal) the frontal orientation of the figure, in order to further emphasize the dignity and importance of the character depicted. The rejection of naturalism and the elements of modernity are most evident in the handling of drapery. The fusion of the left hand with the side drapery plans creates an almost aerodynamic shape, where the horizontal distribution of the folds of the fabric implies the power of movement and take-off. The developing folds suggest that the author’s idea was to resemble wings and thus bring the piece closer to the ideal of the sculptural image of victory - the famous statue of late Hellenism “Nike of Samothrace” .

The monument was erected near the gates of Karageorgiya in the Upper Town of the Belgrade Fortress ^[7] , on the site of the former monument of Karageorge ^[8] . This monument was erected after the victory in the Balkan Wars by the Ministry of Defense in 1913, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the formation of the regular army, which Karageorge Petrovich created. In 1916, the occupation forces of Austria-Hungary destroyed the monument with dynamite in order to replace it with the colossal bronze statue of Franz Joseph. After the liberation of Belgrade, this statue was found on a river barge in the Sava River, melted and reused for the bells for the Serbian Orthodox, and the largest of these was donated to the Ružica Church ^[9] on Kalemegdan. The establishment of a monument to Karageorge in 1857 is one of the first events related to the erection of public monuments in Serbia. The monument to Meshtrovic, which is installed together with the former monument to Karageorgi, uses the powerful symbolism of the fortress as a battle floor and its remarkable position over two rivers, overlooking the national and historical significance. Monument "Gratitude of France" belongs to the period of creativity of Meshtrovic after the First World War, when the author has executed many minimalist monuments, a monumental concept with an underlined main idea. This monument represents a new concept of expressiveness instead of realistic and narrative concepts, contributing to the development of public monuments in Belgrade. Because of its cultural and historical significance, it was declared a cultural monument of 1965, and in 1983 it was declared a monument of particular importance to the Republic of Serbia.