Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/yl4okf7q69
Posthumous Glorification: Tomb, Park and Monument of Baltazar Bogišić
Ivan Viđen
Abstract
Law historian, ethnographer and collectioner, Baltazar Bogišić (1834-1908), renowned and celebrated in his lifetime, has remained so well after his death. Although he did give certain thought to the future of his library and collection, he failed to provide a clear defi nition of their fate upon his death. Marija Bogišić- Pohl (1837-1920), his sister and sole heir, gathered able men of confi dence to help her create a concept of lasting tribute to Bogišić’s heritage and place. Among them were Đuro Bijelić, Vlaho Bukovac, Frano Kulišić, Antun Vučetić and Antun Bratić, who in a fairly short period of six years (1908-1914) came up with a result. With their ceaseless council and selfl ess support, the role of Đuro Bijelić and Vlaho Bukovac should be particularly emphasised. Marija Bogišić-Pohl erected a majestic tomb for her brother at the Cavtat cemetery, which in terms of style and concept falls among the most signifi cant examples of historicistic tomb sculpture in Dubrovnik and its surrounds. She funded the activity of the “Dub” civil society in designing the city park in Dubrovnik, which was named after Bogišić. Hitherto unknown is a curious detail concerning the design of the park fountain for which the famous sculptor Ivan Meštrović (1883-1962) was to be commissioned. From the inherited fi nancial funds she helped the renovation of the Franciscan church of Our Lady of Snow and the parish church of St Nicholas in Cavtat, as well as the construction of the modern local water supply. She supported the initiative of the citizens of Cavtat and Dubrovnik to erect a public monument in honour of Bogišić at the Cavtat waterfront, for the purpose of which, with her consent, one of the Bogišić properties was pulled down in order to create an open space at the entrance to Cavtat. Vlaho Bukovac was in charge of this project for which he commissioned the young sculptor Petar Pallavicini (1886-1958). This stone monument soon became, and has remained to this day, one of the central landmarks of Cavtat. Yet, probably the most rewarding were the efforts made towards the systematisation of Bogišić’s collection and the opening of his private library to the public, which have operated as a museum under the administration of the
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts to the present day.
Keywords
Baltazar Bogišić; Vlaho Bukovac; Ivan Meštrović; Petar Pallavicini; Cavtat; Dubrovnik; “Dub” Society; historicism; stonework; public monument
Hrčak ID:
181204
URI
Publication date:
11.5.2017.
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