Nadežda Petrović bila je slikarka i bolničarka tokom balkanskih ratova i Prvog svetskog rata.
Nekoliko godina nakon završene Više ženske škole studije slikarstva nastavlja u Minhenu. Prvu samostalnu izložbu u Beogradu je imala posle povratka iz Minhena, ali će ova izložba, kao i uglavnom celokupno stvaralaštvo i delo tokom Nadeždinog života biti predmet negativne kritike sredine koja, pre svega, nije razumevala Nadeždinu umetnost. Imajući u vidu činjenicu da se obrazovala u inostranstvu, po povratku u Kraljevinu Srbiju je sa sobom „donela“ i umetničke inovacije, koje konzervativno društvo nije prihvatalo ili shvatalo. Između ostalog joj se zameralo to što inspiraciju pronalazi u impresionizmu koje je u svrhu kritike njenog rada opisivano kao bolesno i trulo.
Sa avangardnim pravcima se upoznaje tokom dve godine u Parizu (1910-1912), kada je naslikala neke od svojih najpoznatijih slika: „Fasada Notr Dam“, „Bogorodičina crkva u Parizu“, „Devojčica u Bulonjskoj šumi“, te „Plaža u Bretanji“.
Nadeždina slika „Dereglije na Savi“ se smatra jednom od prvih impresionističkih slika u srpskoj umetnosti. Smatrala je da se umetnost mora približiti svim društvenim slojevima i da ona ne treba da bude privilegija najobrazovanijih i najbogatijih.
Nadežda je bila patriotkinja, pristalica i strastvena zagovornica jugoslovenske ideje – 1904. je bila jedna od organizatora Prve jugoslovenske izložbe na kojoj su prvi put izlagali umetnici iz Srbije, Hrvatske, Slovenije i Bugarske. Naredne godine su, na Nadeždinu inicijativu, slikari iz pomenutih zemalja bili okupljeni u Prvu jugoslovensku umetničku koloniju. Učestvovala je i u osnivanju Kola srpskih sestara 1903., čija je bila i prva sekretarka, te Srpskog umetničkog društva 1907.
Nadežda je dobrovoljno radila kao bolničarka na frontu za vreme balkanskih ratova i Prvog svetskog rata. „Tokom dužnosti“ je umrla od pegavog tifusa 1915. godine, u valjevskoj bolnici u kojoj je radila. Kao umetnica biva priznata tek nakon smrti, jer je tokom života bila ispred svog vremena. Bila je izložena i rodnim predrasudama, ali i pored svega nije gubila entuzijazam i želju da promeni, pomogne i modernizuje tadašnje društvo.
Nadežda Petrović was a painter and a nurse during the Balkan wars and the First World War.
After finishing a Women’s Higher Education School in the Kingdom of Serbia, she continues her art education in Munich. After coming back from Munich, she had her first solo exhibition in Belgrade. This exhibition as well as the Nadežda’s art as a whole were very criticized throughout Nadežda’s life. Serbia didn’t understand her art. She brought from abroad new ways and ideas that the conservative society in Kingdom of Serbia didn’t understand. One of the biggest critics of her work was the fact that she was finding her inspiration in the Impressionism which was often described as sick and rotten.
Nadežda learns about avantguard movements while spending two years in Paris (1919-1912), and over that period she painted some of her most famous paintings: “Facade of the Notre Dame”, “Notre Dame of Paris”, “A girl in Bois de Boulogne”, “A beach in Brittany”.
Nadežda’s painting “Ferryboat on the Sava river” is considered one of the first impressionist paintings in the Serbian history. She believed that art has to be available to all social classes and that it shouldn’t be a privilege of the most educated and the richest.
Nadežda was a patriot and a big supporter of the Yugoslav idea – in 1904 she organized the First Yugoslavian Exhibition on which exhibited artists from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria. The following year, on the initiative of Nadežda, painters of the previously mentioned states, gathered and organized the First Yugoslavian Art Workshop. She was part of the founding body and the first secretary of the humanitarian organisation “Kolo srpskih sestara”; as well as of the Serbian Art Society.
Nadežda worked as a nurse on the front during the Balkan wars and WW1. She died in 1915 of the camp-fever while working in a hospital in Valjevo. She became well known after her death, as she was too modern for her time. Even when she was denied only because she was a woman – she wasn’t losing her enthusiasm and the will to change, help and modernize the society.