ABSTRACT: Heroization constitutes one of the key mechanisms through which collective memory is structured, allowing individuals to occupy a place within the symbolic order of a community and to embody its ideological and identity narratives. This article examines the formation of the cult of Nadežda Petrović, focusing on the selection and interpretation of memory and on its institutional valorization in the interwar period. Particular attention is devoted to public representations in which Petrović was portrayed as an “apostle” of Yugoslavism, an early figure of modernist transformation, and a symbol of women’s emancipation, as well as to the ritualization and partial militarization of her cult during the transfer of her remains to Belgrade in 1935. For a long time, her artistic work remained overshadowed by the narrative of patriotic sacrifice and was only gradually incorporated into the national modernist canon on the eve of the Second World War. The case of Nadežda Petrović demonstrates how the heroization of individuals, cultural policy, and the canonization of art become intertwined in the broader process of shaping modern national cultures.

KEYWORDS: Nadežda Petrović, heroization, collective memory, Yugoslavism, modernism, women’s emancipation, cultural policy, artistic canonization

SUMMARY: This study examines the process of heroization of Nadežda Petrović from her death in 1915 to the outbreak of the Second World War, demonstrating how her biography was gradually transformed into a symbolic resource of national ideology and interwar cultural policy. Public discourse selectively reshaped her image into that of an “apostle” of Yugoslavism, a national martyr, and a moral exemplar, while her artistic individuality remained for a long time subordinate to narratives of sacrifice and patriotic commitment. Special attention is devoted to the ritualization and partial militarization of her cult during the ceremonial transfer of her remains to Belgrade in 1935, a moment when private remembrance was integrated into state-articulated cultural memory. The final phase of the analysis addresses the institutional valorization of her painting through the acquisition of her works for the Prince Paul Museum and the retrospective exhibition of 1938, which more firmly positioned her oeuvre within the national modernist canon. The article argues that heroization was not a secondary by-product of remembrance but an active mechanism of symbolic legitimation. Within this framework, the personality cult functioned as a precondition for the institutional canonization of artistic authority, while gender identity acquired a specific role in shaping the figure of the national heroine. In this sense, the case of Nadežda Petrović contributes to broader discussions on canon formation and symbolic legitimation in modern nation-states.