Tri portreta Knjaza Danila Petrovića Njegoša: Nacionalni vladar, vojskovođa i zakonodavac
Three portrets prince Danilo Petrovic Njegos: The ruler, Warrior, legislator

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine three different models of representing Montenegrin ruler Danilo I Petrović Njegoš (1851-1860) – as national ruler, military leader and lawmaker. Even though all of his portraits depict Danilo I as the national ruler, this mode of representation is most accurately present in the lithographic portrait, made in Vienna by Serbian engraver and photographer Anastas Jovanović, in April 1853. Being portrayed in Montenegrin traditional costume, prince Danilo wanted to emphasize his ethnicity and identity of the state, the tradition of his ancestors, along with the contemporary European requirements for rulers’ representation. Similarly, presentations of Danilo I as a warrior and commander occur in majority of his portraits to some extent, although the most eloquent statement of his military strategy could be found in lithography which portrays the Prince in his military garment, made by the same artist in Vienna, in June 1852. The achievement of political goals – establishing and reforming institutions, creating and enforcing the law, and acquiring the international recognition of a Montenegrin state – are especially emphasized in posthumous portrait of Danilo I, made by Austrian artist Johann Böss after 1860. The elected portraits demonstrate a desire of Danilo I to establish the traditional national and social values, but also the principles forged by contemporary world. They confirm development of his personality as a ruler, and significantly contribute to our understanding of a political metamorphosis that Montenegrin state endured due to its first early modern secular ruler, lawmaker, military strategist and reformer.

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