Iconostases of Arsenije Teodorović (1762–1826)

Arsenije Teodorović (1767‒1826) is the greatest Serbian painter of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Based on available archival material and earlier research, it is known that he painted the interiors of at least twenty churches in Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, and Romania. Except for the iconostasis in Buda, very little is known about them today, including the present state or the circumstances in which they are currently hosted. Therefore, this project was implemented to assess the condition of Teodorović's iconostases in the field and determine if there have been any changes to the previous expert report from the late 1980s.

. The project also aimed to create quality field documentation, reassess his painting, and determine the existence of later layers and repainting from the 19th and 20th centuries. The project began in mid-2020, but due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, its implementation was postponed to the following year. The first phase of work on the project focused on field research in churches in Hungary and Romania in 2021 in the following locations:

1) In Hungary – the Church of St. Nicholas in Baja, the Church of St. Nicholas in Jegri, the Church of St. Nicholas in Djula; 2) In Romania – the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Sânnicolau Mare, the Church of the Translation of the Relics of St. Nicholas in Saravola, the Church of the Translation of the Relics of St. Nicholas in Comloșu Mare.

The second phase of work was carried out in 2022 and included field research in the following churches: 1) Saints Cosmas and Damian in Futog (1797–1798), 2) Holy Three Hierarchs (Almaška) in Novi Sad (1803–1804), 3) St. Nicholas in Melenci (1806), 4) St. Stephen in Sremska Mitrovica (1815–1816), 5) Presentation of the Virgin in Zrenjanin (Gradnulička) (1816–1817). The continuation of the research followed in 2023, when the painting of Arsenije Teodorović in the Church of St. Nicholas in Ruski Krstur (1793–1797), the Church of St. Panteleimon in Obrovac (early 19th century), the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Kucura (1813), and the Roman Catholic Churches of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Titel (1815) and St. Joseph in Čerević (1817) were field-researched and processed.

The entire research, including recording and documenting the paintings of Arsenije Teodorović, was conducted by a team consisting of Dr Vladimir Simić, art historian and project leader, Dr Daniela Korolija Crkvenjakov, conservator, Peter Krajnc, art historian, and photographer, and Anđela Petrović, expert associate. The project was implemented in collaboration with the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade and the Serbian Church Museum of the Buda Eparchy in Szentendre, with financial support from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia.