Sava Shumanovic, born in Vinkovci in 1896, was one of the most important painters of Serbian art of the 20th century. He is included in the 100 most famous Serbs.
His family moved to Sid when he was 4 years old. In 1914, he enrolled in the College of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb and graduated with the best grades. He then began to exhibit his works publicly.
In the autumn of 1920, Sava went to Paris and rented a studio in Montparnasse. His teacher was Andre Lot, a prominent art pedagogue, direction of analytical cubism. He was a friend with Rastko Petrovic, Modigliani, Max Jakob ... In the following years, he also lived in Zagreb. The public and critics do not accept his works, so he signs the protest with a French transcription on the paintings. He resided again in Paris in 1925, where he accepted the influences of Matisse's painting.
In 1927, Sava painted "Breakfast on the Grass", which met with great criticism in France. Somewhat later, in 7 days and nights of intensive work, he painted the painting "Drunk Boat", which he exhibited at the salon of independents. Critics greeted this work with divided criticism, and Sava, exhausted by his work, found it difficult to bear the negative ones.
He returned to Sid in 1928, tired of the difficult living conditions, work and bad reviews. In Sid he paints Srem landscapes. His solo exhibition in Belgrade was highly praised by critics. The money from the sale of paintings enabled him to go to Paris again. Significant paintings are created here: "Luxembourg Park", "Red Carpet", "Bridge on the Seine". Upon his return to Sid, in 1930, he painted local landscapes and nudes. For three years he worked on the cycle of large plane trees "Sid women", and later on the cycle "The picker women".
During the Second World War, Sid became part of the Independent State of Croatia, and the Cyrillic alphabet was banned, so Sava did not sign the protest, but only marked the year the painting was created.
In 1942, Sava, together with 150 other Serbs from Shida, were arrested by the Ustashas at around 6 o'clock in the morning. They were all tortured, shot, and then buried in a mass grave.
The Sava Shumanovic Painting Award was established in his honor.
His painting "The Bather" from 1927 is in the museum "Eugene Buden" in France and to the cultural public in Serbia it was unknown for 85 years.
Most of his works are kept in the Gallery of Paintings "Sava Shumanovic" in Sid.
