MARIE BASHKIRTSEFF AND BOJIDAR KARAGEORGEVITCH: THE UNIQUENESS OF A CREATIVE DIALOGUE BETWEEN UNIVERSALIST ARTISTS

Abstract

In her article, the author intends to embrace the phenomenon of Marie Bashkirtseff , whose literary legacy perfectly refl ects the epoch at the turn of the centuries. To achieve this goal, the author uses such methods as comparative, receptive and interpretive ones as well as cross reading. A special focus is on the Diary by Bashkirtseff which helps understand her creative personality, psychological priorities and artistic mission. The author studies her Ukrainian identity, estheticism, artistic behavior, feminism and disagreement with a traditional status of the woman that was so typical for her epoch. The author shows that estheticism and dandyism become her world view and life style. This can be traced in her female self-attraction, fascination with her own body, her clothes making or ordering it at Paris boutiques, love for accessories, artistic behavior and estheticism of her home. The author proves that Bashkirtseff ’s literary legacy can be seen as a true testimony to the arts of the turn of the centuries. Her Diary contemplates the atmosphere of the epoch, it resonates with real life, and it describes cultural reality simultaneously with social issues and everyday reality. It is fi lled with refl ections about art and literature that help discover cultural and historic truth. Also, the author presents an overview of Bojidar Karageorgevitch’s legacy. Born a Serbian prince, he was an intellectual cosmopolitan, writer, translator, journalist, artist, illustrator, designer, and jeweler. Bojidar was Bashkirtseff ’s close friend. He watched closely all discussions caused by the Diary. Karageorgevitch participated in denouncing invented stories about it. To give his friend more credibility, Karageorgevitch wrote several articles about Bashkirtseff , one of which was included into Encyclopedia Britannica. While researching the t life and multisided legacy of both artists, the author defi nes pronounced similarities between the two, including aristocratic decent, gifts and skills in the arts, education, cosmopolitanism, and bohemian lifestyles. It is proved that the legacy of Bashkirtseff and Karageorgevitch refl ects the tendencies of their time and can be used as a material to study the life of artists at the turn of the centuries and to deepen knowledge about European cultural context at the end of the 19th century. Key words: Marie Bashkirtseff , Bojidar Karageorgevitch, universalist artists, creative dialogue, estheticism, cosmopolitism, memoirs, travel notes.