Teodor Dimitrijević ( sr-cyr, Теодор Димитријевић; 1730–10 April 1781), known as Teodor Kračun (Теодор Крачун) was a Serbian icon and altar painter.
Biography
He was born at
Sremska Kamenica in 1730. His original surname was Dimitrijević, but later the nickname "Kračun" stuck. He studied art under
Dimitrije Bačević, a well-known icon- and portrait painter, before taking monastic vows and entering the
Vienna Academy in 1769. During his lifetime he produced numerous icons and altarpieces that are still extant today in Serbian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches and cathedrals throughout the province of
Vojvodina
Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...
. He was an acknowledged master of the Baroque period, considered the first great modern Serbian painter, and the most renowned of the
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
and
Rococo painting
Rococo painting represents the expression in painting of an aesthetic movement that flourished in Europe between the early and late 18th century, migrating to Americas, America and surviving in some regions until the mid-19th century. The paintin ...
style in northern
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 ...
. His contemporaries were
Stefan Tenecki, Dimitrije Popović, another student of Bačević,
Jakov Orfelin,
Georgije Mišković and
Grigorije Davidović-Obšić.
His greatest and most important works, done between 1771 and 1781, are the two iconostases in the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas in
Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci ( sr-Cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka Districtautonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danube, from Novi Sad. According to the 202 ...
. The smaller one in the chapel of St. George in the choir area (now in the
Gallery of Matica Srpska, Novi Sad) and the other, larger one, in the church which was the most representative structure of the Serbian baroque built between 1752 and 1762, by Metropolitan
Pavle Nenadović. For the Cathedral Church, Kračun did ten icons mounted on wood and for the upper church in Karlovci a series of icons. Several iconostasis icons in the Church of the Holy Archdeacon Stefan in
Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Sava, Sava river. , the city has a total population of 36,764 inhabitants, while its adminis ...
, are also attributed to him. Some of the historians point out the resemblance of Kračun's painting to the art of the great
El Greco
Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...
, which is characterized by the light-dark effects, vibrating movements and the interplay of draperies and the background.
In Kračun's work, the elements or ''rocaille'' art are also present. He also painted portraits. His best work is the portrait of Archimandrite Jovan Jovanović of
Novo Hopovo Monastery. According to the records of St. Nicholas Church in Sremski Karlovci, Kračun died on 10 April 1781.
References
Sources
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kracun, Teodor
1730 births
1781 deaths
People from South Bačka District
Serbian painters
Habsburg Serbs
18th-century Serbian painters