The house of Marko Stojanović (1885): The first independent work of architect Konstantin Jovanović in Belgrade

Abstract

The first independent work of the Viennese architect Konstantin A. Jovanović (1849-1923) in Belgrade, the house of solicitor Marko Stojanović at 53-55 Knez Mihailova Street, built in 1885, signifies the Europeanising surge of the secular architecture in the Kingdom of Serbia, which conclusively suppressed the Oriental architectural practices. Jovanović's father Anastas helped him develop friendship alongside the business relationship with the patron of the house. This allowed Jovanović to construct a notable privately-owned building in the city thoroughfare, thus recommending himself to the favour of wealthy investors. Often linked in historiography to Jovanović's cult of the Italian Renaissance, Stojanović's house also contains elements of Mannerism and Baroque, harmoniously combined into an eclectic whole. Adapted to the Belgrade setting as a two-storey structure built at the top of the Sava River Slope, the house is a direct interpolation of the Viennese eclectic experiences.