Church of St. George, Smederevo, Serbia

The church of St. George is one of the largest churches of the 19th century in Serbia, and in an architectural sense, the church of St. George is the first reminiscence of the mediaeval Church of the Holy Trinity of the monastery Manasija. The church of St. George represents the pinnacle of early Romantic Historicism and signifies a turnabout in Serbian architecture till then.

The protomaster was Andreja Damjanov from Veles who, following the somewhat altered drafts by the architect Jan Nevola, built the temple from 1850-1854. The foundation of the church of St. George is a combination of a trikonhos, a developed inscribed cross, three-nave basilica with five domes and a tall, Baroque bell-tower on the Western side. In the spirit of the early romantic historicism, which here reached its climax, characteristic Byzantic and Western elements are present. The rich plastic decoration of the church of St. George represents a unification of Serbian mediaeval tradition, Baroque and Islamic influences.

The church of Saint George photo 2

The Russian academic painter Andreja Bicenko accomplished the iconographic work in the period from 1935-1937, importing into Serbian religious painting the academical style, contemporary theology and Russian tradition.

Above the gallery in the Western part of the naos and on the arch are painted the compositions "The conveyance of the remains of St. Luke to Smederevo" and "The Sermon on the Mountain" whose characters were modelled after historic persons. King Aleksandar and Queen Marija with the princes are recognized, as are bishop Nikolaj, the Russian Tzar Nikolaj, the benefactor from Smederevo Father Milutin Banic, and others.

Source: http://www.smederevowelcome.com/discover-smederevo/attractions/the-churc...