The Treasury of the Monastery of Ráckeve

The Treasury of the Monastery of Ráckeve holds valuable – mainly 18th- and 19th-century – liturgical objects, which also bear witness to the various cultural links and artistic influences of the period.

Dating from the first decades of the 18th century, the icon of the Theotokos with Christ, decorated with a votive crown, is believed to have been part of a former iconostasis made by an unknown itinerant icon painter. 

In terms of painting quality, the icon of the Great Martyr Saint Demetrius appears to be special. As suggested by its inscription, it was made in 1746 at the request of Hegumen Georgije. The artist’s possible artistic association with the Kiev Painting Academy may be inferred from the style of the picture and the gilded background.   A large-size icon of the Holy Trinity, featuring the figure of God the Father holding the Son and the representation of the Holy Spirit as a dove, testifies to the impact of western art on the Serbian community in the mid-18th century.

The monastery treasury also contains a feast icon series by Teodor Simeonov Gruntović, who worked on the painting of the church on two occasions: in 1765 and in 1771. Of the metal items, a 1762 baroque chalice of gilt-silver and a large, impressive-looking vigil lamp are worth mentioning. The latter was a gift from the great benefactor of the church, Nikola Božić. A separate group is constituted by 18th-century handmade woodcarvings and filigree-covered and hammered hand crosses, supplying proof of the monastery’s active ties with certain Balkan – chiefly Athonian – workshops. 

Not only the Orthodox faithful made donations to the Monastery Church of Ráckeve. The miraculous icon of the Theotokos, complete with a grandiose baroque throne in the sanctuary of the church, attracted many pilgrims from afar in the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. Perhaps this was how a version of the miraculous icon of the Theotokos from the famous Greek Catholic pilgrimage site of Máriapócs made its way into the treasury of the church.

The first academically educated Serbian female painter, Katarina Ivanović from Székesfehérvár painted a small icon of her patron saint, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, probably at the request of Ekaterina Dogali because the icon was mounted on the Ráckeve Throne of the Theotokos as her votive gift in 1854. The icon of the Pentecost by Arsenije Petrović, a painter from Zemun (Zimony), was made in 1864, while the icon of Saint Basil the Great by Ilija Dimitrijević, a painter of the Serbian Academy, dates from 1879.

Pictures by other well-known 19th-century Serbian artists, such as Lazar Milić, are also found in the Treasury of the Monastery of Ráckeve.