Serbian Culture - Serbian Visual Arts

Serbian Visual Arts

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 nobility was suppressed. 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, in 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.

There was somewhat of a resurgence in Serbian art in the 19th century as Serbia gradually regained its autonomy. Prince Aleksandar commissioned the building of a Monument to the Insurgents in Karađorđev Park in 1848 in Vračar. Serbian paintings showed the influence of Neoclassicism and Romanticism during the 19th century. Anastas Jovanović was a pioneering photographer in Serbia taking the photos of many leading citizens.

Kirilo Kutlik set up the first school of art in Serbia in 1895. Many of his students went to study in Western Europe, especially France and Germany and brought back avant-garde styles. Nadežda Petrović was influenced by Fauvism while Sava Šumanović worked in Cubism.

After World War I, the Belgrade School of Painting developed in the capital with some members such as Milan Konjović working in a Fauvist manner, while others such as Marko Čelebonović working in a style called Intimisme based on the use of colours.

The most famous Serbian painters were Paja Jovanović and Uroš Predić, painting in the Realist style. Their monumental paintings of historical events have inspired generations of Serbian artists.