'Croatian Institute of History (Hrvatski Institut za Povijest)'
Abstract
Skulpture “Kosovskog ciklusa” nastale su od 1908. do 1914. godine, u razdoblju prije Prvoga svjetskog rata, razdoblju punom neizvjesnosti, kada se javlja težnja za oslobođenjem Hrvatske od Austro-Ugarske i stvaranjem Jugoslavije. Zbog izrazitoga nacionalnog izražaja izazvale su veliko zanimanje, posebno na izložbi 1910. u Zagrebu pod nazivom “Nejunačkom vremenu u prkos” i dodjelom prve nagrade za kiparstvo na Međunarodnoj izložbi 1911. u Rimu. One su samo manji dio cjelokupnoga Meštrovićeva stvaralaštva, a trebale su biti ujedinjene Vidovdanskim hramom.The sculptures of the “Kosovo cycle” came into being during the period 1908-1914 – the period before the First World War, a time of great uncertainty: the yearning for Croatian independence from the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the formation of Yugoslavia. Due to their sharp expression of nationalism they stirred a great deal of interest at their 1910 exhibition in Zagreb under the slogan ‘In Spite of these unheroic times’ and on the occasion of his first international awards in sculpture at the Rome exhibition in 1911.
They are only a small part of Meštrović’s entire body of work, though they were intended to form an integral part of the Kosovo Temple
