Lot 157
UROŠ PREDIĆ (Serbian 1857-1953)
St. Basil the Great- 1921
Oil on canvas
Monogrammed in Cyrillic and dated 1921 lower right
56.25 inches x 36.5 inches (143 x 93 cm)
Estimate:  $20,000 - 30,000  

Passed

Uroš Predić is considered one of the greatest Serbian painters of all time. In 1876 he enrolled at the Academy of Arts in Vienna where he, upon graduating with honors, became a professor there. During his long and prolific life, Predić painted historical and social genre as well as religious subjects (including iconostases) for numerous churches and private clients, becoming perhaps the greatest Serbian iconographer of the modern age. He was also a great portraitist whose clients included kings and queens, the aristocracy, politicians, and notable men and women of the arts and sciences. He remained active painting up until the time of his death at the age of 95.
Saint Basil the Great, (329-379) was the bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia (modern-day Turkey). He was an influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed the heresies of the early Christian church. Here he is depicted in the garments of a bishop, wearing a cross studded sakkos and stole. He holds a scroll inscribed in Church Slavonic with text related to the Trinity, One substance/nature in a Trinity of three hypostatic persons. Basil was also known for his care of the poor and underprivileged as well as establishing guidelines for monastic life. Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa are collectively referred to as the Cappadocian Fathers. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches have given him, together with Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom, the title of Great Hierarch, and he is recognized as a Doctor of the Church in both the East and West.