Ljuba Popovic

Painter Ljubomir Popović, known as Ljuba, was born in Tuzla in 1934 and died in Belgrade in 2016. He developed his career between Belgrade, where he trained, and Paris, where he settled. He studied fine arts in Belgrade and obtained a diploma from the city’s Academy of Fine Arts. In 1960, he founded the Médiala movement, of which he was also a member; the group is described as united around a collective imaginary combining art, science and esotericism. From 1963, he lived in Paris, with occasional stays in Serbia, and worked there with the support of Thessa Herold’s gallery.

The references associated with his work range from Renaissance and Baroque painting to Hieronymus Bosch, decadent Symbolism and Surrealism. Several titles feature among the works cited: Les pèlerins d’Emmaüs (1960-1962), L’apparition (1967-1968), La Tentation de Saint Antoine (1972), Le Jugement de l’âme (1984), Le Théâtre de la cruauté (1990) and L’Innocence dévorée (2001). A sale catalogue describes L’étuvage étrange as an oil on canvas from 1968, signed and titled, with “Paris” inscribed on the reverse, measuring 49 × 60 cm; it also notes a Galerie Krugier label on the reverse, bearing the number JK1537.

In Paris, Popović exhibited alongside René Magritte and Wifredo Lam. In 1978, he was the subject of the documentary short film L’amour monstre de tous les temps, directed by Walerian Borowczyk.

Works recorded at auction

Piguet

L'étuvage étrange

Oil on canvas

Original catalogue wording

L'étuvage étrange
huile sur toile

Catalogue period : 2014-10-08

Published result : 3800 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 500–800

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