Serbian Art - Visual Arts in Early Modern Serbia

Visual Arts in Early Modern Serbia

The Ottoman conquest of Serbia during the 15th century is traditionally said to have had a negative impact of the visual arts. The church was not subdued to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate at Constantinople and the nobles were not integrated into the Ottoman state system. As the nobility and church were the main sources of patronage for architects and artists, the early modern period is considered an artistically less productive period in the art of Serbia. Despite the general trend, remarkable monuments were built.

There was some resumption of artistic endeavour after the restoration of the Serbian patriarch in 1557. Djordje Mitrofanović was the leading painter of the early 17th century with his work on the church at the Morača Monastery considered as amongst his best. The Husein-Pasha Mosque in Pljevlja (Montenegro) is the most notable Muslim structure in the Balkans and dates from the middle of the 16th century.

A "Baroque" church 'Our Lady of the Rocks' on an island in the Boka Kotorska (Montenegro) is one of the most notable pieces of architecture in the Serbian lands from the early modern period. There are many fine specimens of silverware dating from the 17th century there. Traditional Serbian art was beginning to show some Baroque influences at the end of the 18th century as shown in the works of Nikola Nešković, Teodor Kračun and Jakov Orfelin.