Maksim Tujković was an early 18th-century Serbian monk of the Cetinje monastery who often traveled as an icon painter and woodcarver. He learned his craft and art at the Boka Kotorska School of Dimitrijević-Rafailović in

Risan Risan ( Montenegrin: Рисан, ) is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. It traces its origins to the ancient settlement of Rhizon, the oldest settlement in the Bay of Kotor. Lying in the innermost portion of the bay, the settlement was prot ...

. He is best known for his paintings in the monastery of Nikoljac, the

Patriarchate of Peć Patriarchate of Peć may refer to: * Patriarchate of Peć (monastery), Eastern Orthodox Patriarchal Monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church, near the city of Peć * Serbian Patriarchate of Peć, medieval Serbian Patriarchate, with seat in Patriarc ...

and the Sarajevo church, where his pieces of art can be seen alongside famous works by older painters. He was one of the best Serbian icon painters of the first half of the eighteenth century. A contemporary of Rafailo Dimitrijević, Maksim Tujković was born in the village of Tujkovića, near Kotor, around the turn of the 18th century (1700), and in time he became known professionally as Maksim Tujković the ''zograf''. His first known works are two throne icons in the church of

Holy Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

(''Sv. Gospođa'') at

Njeguši Njeguši ( cnr, Његуши) is a village in the Cetinje Municipality of southern Montenegro, located on the slopes of Mount Lovćen, within the Lovćen national park. It is part of the territory of Njeguši (tribe), Njeguši tribe. Demographics ...

, on the right central icon of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

with the

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

, dating from 1720. There it mentions the children of

Staniša Radonjić Staniša Radonjić ( sr-Cyrl, Станиша Радоњић), known as Staniša Popov (Станиша Попов; 1682 - 1693), was a Serbian Orthodox priest, chieftain (''vojvoda'') of the Njeguši tribe, and ''Serdar'' of the Prince-Bishopric ...

-- Vukosav, Jovo, and Marko -- evidently the ''

ktitor ''Ktetor'' ( el, κτήτωρ) or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ''kt’it’ori''; ro, ctitor), meaning "founder", is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox ch ...

'' of the project. In that same church, Staniša Radonjić is mentioned in an inscription by another contemporary painter Rafailo Dimitrijević from 1756. In the monastery of Nikoljac Tujković worked on the completion of the

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

in 1723 and this is where his best carving work is located.

References

Serbian monks {{DEFAULTSORT:Tujković, Maksim Year of birth missing (living people) Serbian icon painters