Georgije "Đura" Jakšić (; 27 July 1832 – 16 November 1878) was a Serbian poet, painter, writer, dramatist and bohemian.

Biography

thumb|left|Jakšić's birth house in Srpska Crnja

Đura Jakšić was born as Georgije Jakšić in Srpska Crnja, Austrian Empire (present-day Serbia). His father was a Serbian Orthodox priest. and was wounded while fighting in Srbobran. After the revolution he moved to Belgrade, Principality of Serbia, where he served as a schoolteacher, a proofreader in a state-owned printing office, and in various other jobs, although he was often unemployed. Jakšić died in 1878, having had taken part in the uprising against the Turks in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Jakšić is one of the most expressive representatives of Serbian Romanticism. According to Serbian literary critic Jovan Skerlić, Jakšiċ was influenced mainly by Sándor Petőfi, the great Hungarian poet of the 1848 Revolution, and Lord Byron's poetry depicting the Greek War of Independence.

Literary works

Đura Jakšić wrote about forty short stories and three full-length dramas in verse on historical themes:

  • Stanoje Glavaš (1878)
  • The Migration of the Serbs (Seoba Srbalja, 1864)
  • Elizabeth the Montenegrin Queen (Jelisaveta kneginja crnogorska, 1868) and the novel Warriors.

He also wrote poems, several of which are considered among the best of 19th-century Serbian poetry: Na Liparu (On the Lipar Hill), He also drew sketches of Mila, one of which later became his famous painting "Devojka u Plavom" (The Girl in Blue). Through them he expressed his pessimism and bitterness about the harsh blows life and people had dealt him. A popular motif in Jakšić's work is the Battle of Kosovo, Kosovo myth, eagles and Serbian epic poetry.

Artistic opus

The main influences on Jakšić were Rembrandt, Diego Velázquez and Peter Paul Rubens. Jakšić's work varies in quality, ranging from masterpieces to half-professional paintings. According to Novak Radonić, the biggest problem with his painting is the improper use of anatomy.

Jakšić painted around 200 paintings.

Jakšić was one of the leaders of Serbian Romanticism and one of the country's greatest painters of that movement, together witk Novak Radonić.

The award for the best book of poetry in the Serbian language bears his name.

Jakšić was also a teacher and a professor; schools and colleges throughout Serbia bear his name.

A number of anecdotes about Jakšić was published.

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File:Đura Jakšić - Knez Lazar, 1857‒1859, Narodni muzej.jpg|knez Lazar Hrebeljanović, 1857‒1859

File:Đura Jakšić - Devojka u plavom, 1856, Narodni muzej u Beogradu, Zbirka Joce Vujića.jpg|Devojka u plavom (Girl in Blue), 1856

File:Đura Jakšić - Odmor posle boja (Karaula), 1876, Narodni muzej.jpg|Odmor posle boja (karaula), 1876

File:Đura Jakšić - Autoportret, 1857‒1858, Narodni muzej.jpg|Self-portrait, 1857‒1858

File:Đura Jakšić - Takovski ustanak, 1876‒1878, Narodni muzej.jpg|The Uprising at Takovo, 1876‒1878

File:Đura Jakšić - Crnogorac, 1875, Narodni muzej Crne Gore, Cetinje.jpg|Montenegrin, 1875

File:Đura Jakšić - Ustanak Crnogoraca, 1862, Galerija Matice srpske.jpg|Uprising of Montenegrins, 1862

</gallery>

See also

  • Konstantin Danil
  • Nikola Aleksić
  • Katarina Ivanović
  • Novak Radonić
  • Stevan Todorović

References

  • Translated and adapted from Jovan Skerlić's Istorija Nove Srpske Književnosti/History of New Serbian Literature (Belegrade, 1914, 1921), pages 310–319.
  • Đura Jakšić's grave at Belgrade Graveyards website
  • Đura Jakšić's poems at Znanje.org
  • A collection of scanned books by Jakšić
  • Translated works by Đura Jakšić