- Ilija Bašičević
Ilija Bašičeviċ, later Ilija "Bosilj" Bašičeviċ was born in 1895 in Šid, which was part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire and is now inSerbia and died in 1972 in Šid. His parents werepeasant farmers [ [http://www.gseart.com/artists.asp?ArtistID=682 Ilija Bosilj Basicevic at Galerie St. Etienne ] ] and he only received about four years of school before starting work on the farm. He left the country during bothWorld War I to escapeconscription and duringWorld War II to avoid theUstaše . He resistedcollective farming and was periodically jailed on dubious charges by the political police.Ilija Bašičeviċ's son Dimitrije was an
art critic and became involved in a "naïve art " [ [http://www.mbasicevic.net/mangelos_biography.html mangelos biography ] ] movement started by theUSSR which rejected "decadent"modernism , and the father was inspired to paint. His son disapproved at first, because Ilija's work was not as precise or refined as the official Hlebene School'sReverse painting on glass techniques.His first major showing was at a
Belgrade gallery in 1963, and was very controversial because of Bašičeviċ's political stance. The painter took the surname "Bosilj" as apseudonym for the showings. In the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, his work was popular inEurope , often showcased inZagreb andBelgrade but alsoAmsterdam andParis .Bašičeviċ's work is partially
art brut and partiallynaïve art and most of his work is oil on canvas. [ [http://www.gseart.com/artists.asp?ArtistID=682 Ilija Bosilj Basicevic at Galerie St. Etienne ] ] Much of his work dealt with religion and folk legends and two-headed and two-faced creatures are a common theme. He gave many of his paintings to found an art museum in his home town in 1970 [ [http://www.basicevic.net/ilijanum.html Ilija Basicevic - Bosilj | Ilijanum ] ] .References
External links
* http://www.artnet.com/artist/424457426/ilija-basicevic-bosilj.html
* http://www.basicevic.net/
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