Andrija Raičević ( - after 1673) was a Serbian iconographer and miniaturist who worked during the Ottoman occupation of the Balkan Peninsula. Raičević was born in Tolac,

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...

, Ottoman Empire. He undertook commissions for the Patriarchate of Peć and went to

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

to paint icons for the

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () 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 that can be placed anywhere withi ...

in the Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. He is noted for having painted

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

in an abstract but traditional form. His icon is not influenced by Western art; St. Nicholas is presented in the Byzantine art style of the twelfth century and those that followed suit. All of his commissions came from the Patriarchate (Peć) or from high-ranking Serbian officials. The Monastery of the Holy Trinity of Pljevlja, also known as ''Vrhobreznica'', was the largest rewriting center (

Scriptorium A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...

) in

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

during the period of Ottoman rule. In the monastic brotherhood of the Holy Trinity, some of the most important achievements of Serbian manuscript literature from the Ottoman era were created.

John the Exarch John the Exarch (also transcribed Joan Ekzarh; ) was a medieval Bulgarian scholar, writer and translator, one of the most important men of letters working at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th centur ...

's ''Hexameron'' (a 15th-century Russian translation) and

Cosmas Indicopleustes Cosmas Indicopleustes (; also known as Cosmas the Monk) was a merchant and later hermit from Alexandria in Egypt. He was a 6th-century traveller who made several voyages to India during the reign of emperor Justinian. His work '' Christian Topogr ...

's Christian topography, hand-copied by Gavrilo Trojičanin in 1649 and then illustrated by painter Andrija Raičević, were a remarkable and significant undertaking of miniature painting in the seventeenth century. Raičević was a relative of Mojsije, the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity. Over time, these two works in the same connection became especially recognizable by Raičević's extraordinary illustrations. Today, Andrija Raičević's works are on display in the Museum of the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

and Heritage museum Pljevlja (''Zavičajni muzej Pljevlja''). He died in

Peć Peja or Peć, ), is the fifth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova (region), Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the ...

References

17th-century Serbian artists {{DEFAULTSORT:Raičević, Andrija People from Pljevlja 1610s births 1670s deaths Serbian painters Eastern Orthodox artists

See also

References