Arsenije Petrović (Serbian Cyrillic: Арсеније Петровић;

Bela Crkva, Banat Bela Crkva ( sr-cyrl, Бела Црква, ; ; ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 7,456, while the Bela Crkva municipality has 14,451 ...

, 1803 –

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality in the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown ...

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia () was an autonomous, later sovereign state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agre ...

, 1870) was a Serbian painter.

Biography

Arsenije Petrović was born in 1803 in

Serbian Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of Timiș, Caraș ...

and took up art at an early age, however, he was not academically trained, though he had some instruction from a local master painter in

Vršac Vršac ( sr-Cyrl, Вршац, ) is a city in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the city urban area had a population of 31,946, while the city administrative area had 45,462 inhabitants. It is located in the geographical ...

early on. Considered one of the most important Serbian traveling amateur painters of the 19th century, Petrović art is similar to the autochthonous, wild art of American tinsmiths and

Folk artists Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, who share in their use of color and range of expression, spontaneity, skill, and simplicity in their work. His main themes are life and the objects that surround them. His children's portraits are often compared to New York painter John Bradley. He did icon painting and portraits for a living. He painted in

Ottoman Serbia Ottoman Serbia refers to the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman period in the history of Serbia. Various regions of medieval Serbia came under Ottoman rule already at the end of the 14th century, while the Serbian Despotate fell in 1459. Northern regions o ...

in his early career and

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

Srem Syrmia ( Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is ...

and

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

in his later years. He was especially appreciated as a

portraitist A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better re ...

of children. Arsenije Petrović's work first appeared in the

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

in 1839. His painting moves between primitive decorativeness and

Biedermeier The Biedermeier period was an era in Central European art and culture between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle classes grew in number and artists began producing works appealing to their sensibilities. The period began with the end of th ...

naturalism. Despite his

naive art Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of Deontology, moral idealism. A ''na ...

painting, he joined the Serbs of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, who played a significant role in the creation of the modern state and the art culture of a young civil society. In 1842 his fame reached the prince's court, where he painted a portrait of little Peter Karadjordjević, the future king Peter I. That Arsenije gladly accepted to paint children and that he did so with joy and skill, can be seen from the works exhibited in the

residence A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence or The Residence may also refer to: * Domicile (law) In law and conflict of laws, domicile is relevant to an individual's "personal l ...

of Princess

Ljubica Ljubica ( sr-cyr, Љубица and ) is a Slavic feminine given name meaning "love" or "kiss", where -ica is a diminutive suffix. Also, ''ljubica'' means violet, while the actual flower is ''ljubičica'', a superdiminutive. It is Serbo-Croatian in ...

: Girl with a basket of flowers and Boy with a dove; as well as on the canvas: Portrait of little Petar Radović, from the National Museum in

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

. Arsenije Petrović died in

, then part of

, in 1870.

Gallery

Arsenije Petrović (1803-1870) - Portret mladića, 1830.jpg, Portrait of a young man 1830. Arsenije Petrović, A girl with a flower basket 1845-50.jpg , Girl with a flower basket, 1845–50. Arsenije Petrović, A boy with a pigeon, 1852.jpg, Boy with a pigeon, 1852. Арсеније Петровић, Ђорђе Тоска 1854-6.jpg , George Toska, 1854–6. Арсеније Петровић, Лаза Петровић кујунџија 1854-6.jpg, Laza Petrović, 1854–6.

References

{{authority control 19th-century Serbian painters

Biography

Gallery

See also

References