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Journée Serbe, 25 Juin 1916

Théophile Alexandre Steinlen (1859-1923)

Unframed size: Not available

$950.00

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About the work

This poster commemorates Journée Serbe (Serbia Day), which marks the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, when Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović went to battle with an invading army of the Ottoman empire. Prince Hrebeljanović lost the battle, and thereby lost Serbian independence, but that loss became an important symbol of Serbian nationalism 500 years later.

This poster depicts a Serbian soldier with his hand on the shoulder of a French soldier, followed by a group of women as they head into the mountainous regions of Albania and Montenegro following Serbia’s 1915 invasion by the Central Powers during World War I.

Serbia was an ally of Britain, France, and Russia during the war, and an enemy of Austria-Hungary, which blamed Serbian conspirators for the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to their throne. In 1915, Austria-Hungary and Germany made a joint offensive against Serbia, attacking from the North while Bulgaria attacked from the east. The Central Powers meant to finally break Serbia’s defenses following Serbia’s prior successes in resisting their attacks. The Serbian army fought valiantly but was ultimately overwhelmed, and retreated, along with many civilians, across the Albanian mountains, a journey known as the Great Retreat or the “Albanian Golgotha.” By the end of the campaign, Serbia had been divided between the Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian occupied zones, and the Serbian government evacuated to the Greek island of Corfu, where they regrouped and played a crucial role in the Allied victory.

This poster was printed by the Russian printer I. Lapina in Paris. Interestingly, Lapina mostly produced art cards illustrating the Paris Salon, Turkish scenes, books, and posters. This poster was not typical of his work, but rather was part of the war effort.

Unframed. Conservation-mounted to a linen backing.