Romantic Visions vs. Rejection of Ideal Reconstruction

Abstract

Almost half a century after Romanticist fervor dwindled, a highly distinguished Serbian architect and architectural historian, Aleksandar Deroko, infused it with new life in his theoretical and design oeuvre. Significantly contributing to the history of 20th century architecture in former Yugoslavia, Deroko merged romanticist deep appreciation of history with the rationality of modern design methodology. Rastko Petrovic, a Serbian poet, diplomat, and art critic was Deroko’s faithful companion during his theoretical wanderings and ventures to the remote parts of the Balkans. The architect and the poet were both children of their own age. They personally knew Guillaume Apollinaire, James Joyce, Picasso, and were close to the Parisian Dadaist circle. On the other side, their approach to the study of the past deeply resonated with a romantic sentiment. Deroko’s particular methodological approach to architectural history and design was based on the deep understanding of tradition and on supposition that it is possible to accumulate knowledge of the elements of good design. This paper employs the example of the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world, to explore the relations between Deroko’s romantic visions and ways of using tradition in the construction of modernity. Furthermore, the role Petrovic’s ideas played in development of Deroko’s design methodology will be examined. The writer’s novels and their content will be discussed to explain the union of romantic vision of remote, unapproachable medieval monasteries, with strong rationalism and realism in approach to preservation and protection of historical monuments. The paper will investigate contemporaneity of an argument that Deroko’s methodological approach to architectural history does not recognize innovation as a virtue, and raises the question that each epoch is characterized by a complex set of conflicting and harmonizing tendencies simultaneously.