Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection of Art in Novi Sad

Next door to the Gallery of Matica Serbia there is the fascinating Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection of Art.

 Who is Pavle Beljanski?

Pavle Beljanski was born in a sleepy town on the Danube River, Veliko Gradiste, in Serbia, in 1892, into a respectable middle-class family. After school he went to study law at Belgrade University, but WWI came along and he abandoned his studies to enrol into the Pupils’ Battalion in Skopje, winning several medals before he contracted TB and was invalided out of the army. Pavle then went to Paris to study law at the Sorbonne, and after the war to Stockholm to work as a clerk in the embassy of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes there.

This was the beginning of a very interesting diplomatic career and the beginning of his renowned art collection. He started buying in Berlin and Vienna when he was posted there, striking up friendships with young artists such as Marino Tartalja who were studying in Europe’s major cultural capitals, and when he returned to Belgrade in 1925 he kept up these friendships with young artists from his own country. He decided to collect the works of contemporary artists whose quality was recognised internationally, and create an anthology of his nation.

Between the two world wars Beljanski worked hard on expanding his collection and appointed the painter Jefto Peric to choose and buy pieces. He also promoted their work through exhibitions and writing reviews for numerous art magazines.

WWII disrupted his plans and his main worry was to keep his collection safe and out of reach of the Nazis. When the Germans formed a commission for the seizure of works of art in Belgrade, Beljanski was tipped off by a good friend who was a member of the commission. Beljasnki hid all his art in a box, and buried it in the coal cellar, keeping out any expensive frames which he displayed with mediocre paintings in them. When the commission come to value his collection they decided it wasn’t of a ny importance and left. He later said: “ Each of these painting is part of my life! Each of them went through my heart… “

This devotion to his collection saved his life during WWII. His family moved to Svilajnac in order to avoid the full atrocities of the German invasion of Belgrade  but Beljanski decided to stay in the city and look after his paintings. Unfortunately Sviljanc was bombed on 24^th September 1944 and the Beljanski family house was hit. Pavle Beljanski lost two sisters, a brother and their families. Beljanski was left on his own.

At the end of WWII the new country of Yugoslavia needed experienced diplomats and Pavle Beljanski was invited into the diplomatic corps again. As a skilful and knowledgeable diplomat he established relations with many countries and as a result was rewarded by different countries such as Poland, Ethiopia, Greece and Egypt. Beljasnki’s second spell in the diplomatic service lasted officially until 1958.

In October 1945 an exhibition of 67 paintings was arranged at the City Museum in Sombor. This exhibition was the first one in post-war Yugoslavia but also it was the first time Beljanski could see his collection in a gallery. The following year he arranged for several foreign diplomatic missions in Yugoslavia to visit the exhibition which despite being his private property, was thereby approved as ideologically sound by his communist masters. The same year ten paintings were chosen for a major retrospective exhibition of painting and sculpture of the people of Yugoslavia 19th and 20th centuries, which toured several Eastern European capitals.

Between 1952 and 1957 120 works from the Pavel Beljanski Collection were chosen for exhibition at the National Museum in Belgrade. Due to the size of the collection not all pieces could be shown at once, the exhibits were rotated to bring as many works to the public as practically possible. Pavle considers donating his art to a museum but under certain conditions, the main one being that part of it always had to be displayed, and displayed apart from other paintings in the museum. Only the museum in Vojvodina accepted his conditions and in 1957 he signed a contract with the Executive Council who built a gallery just for the Beljanski Collection.

The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Art Gallery contains paintings, sculptures, drawings and tapestries over two floors. One of the smaller parts of the Memorial is dedicated to Pavel Beljasnki’s life and you can see his diplomatic uniform, photographs of his parents, his medals and his first art collections. From a total of 185 works you can find 144 exhibited.

Entry is just £1. The Pavle Beljanski Memorial is open  from Wednesday to Sunday from 1000-1800, Thursday 1300-2100 and closed on Monday and Tuesday. The list of paintings at the Pavle Beljanksi Memorial Collection you can find here.

If you are looking for a day trip to Novi Sad and the Pavle Beljanski Memorial with a private guide, driver and car please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com 

Day Trip to the Bamboo Temple in Kunming, China

 The drive by cab took around half an hour first through the city and then through the countryside up into the mountains. The scenery changed rapidly from high rise blocks to  tall, elegant pines. In the middle of them stood a famous Bamboo Temple, one of the iconic sites of Kunming. Once we realised that we were a long way from the city centre we decided to ask the cab driver to wait for us. The small issue was that we didn’t speak Chinese and driver didn’t speak any English. After a lots of “yes, no”, head nodding and finger pointing still unsure if he understood us, we decided to try our luck and visit the temple. If he wasn’t there after an hour we would get a bus or start walking…

The first thing you notice even before you enter the Temple is its serenity. The temple is located in the Ya’an Mountain and surroundd by thick, fresh  forest. The birdsong and light breeze of the clean air are the only things you notice. 

Once inside the temple you can enjoy a beautifully designed courtyard spread over four layers and decorated with flowers in full bloom.  There were a few couples playing mah jong, quietly, immersed in their own thoughts and blending into the peaceful surroundings. We had heard about the very good vegetarian food here but as we didn’t have a guide with us or speak any Chinese we couldn’t get any information…Scared to distort the natural harmony of the Temple, we didn’t talk to each other and instead walked around, enjoying the architecture and taking photos. At the back of the temple, we saw a door which we thought could lead into the kitchen and feeling like intruders we decided not to go through. Then luckily three girls walked towards us with freshly cooked meals in boxes and with chopsticks. We went where they had come from and found a monk, dressed in a kitchen apron holding a huge wok and preparing  vegetables. Rice was already ready. Again using our fingers, head and rudely pointing to the dishes we managed to get a meal, a vegetarian freshly cooked meal, for RMB5 which is around  50p. The size of the portion was small compared to an ordinary Chinese meal but bear in mind that most Chinese meals are left unfinished! With the portion which we had at the Bamboo Temple we felt full. It was just the right amount of food and it was tasty! A touch of spice was added – it was like peppercorn…Sitting in a beautiful courtyard, with delicious food in serene surroundings was like a dream experience and as in evey dream, it didn’t last long. We had to go back and check if our driver had understood us and to our delight he was there waiting for us. We gave him a good tip after the journey.
 
The Bamboo temple in Kunming was built in 1270 after Zen Buddhism was introduced to Yunnan. Since then the temple was  destroyed and rebuilt several times. The Bamboo Temple is  well known for 500 statues of arhats or holy men who look very realistic in their own individual poses and expressions. Also the temple is known for two 500 year-old cypress trees in the front of the courtyard and for old cynics like me there are bamboos on the premises but behind the temple.  If you wish to see a video of the Bamboo Temple In Kunming please click here.
 
If you wish to book a day trip to the Bamboo Temple in Kunming with your own English-speaking guide, car and driver please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com