Updates
6. November 2025.
Zeal in heritage protection
The Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments continues its tireless work to protect our heritage, identity, spiritual and cultural achievements. The Cross of the Crucifixion from 1775 was part of the representative Baroque iconostasis of the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Orahovica. It was executed using the egg tempera technique on a wooden support, with an integrated frame decorated with a combination of silver and gold leaf. This work was painted by Jovan Četirović Grabovan, one of the most significant painters of the transitional period of Serbian painting in the 18th century. century. The painting has undergone a complete conservation and restoration treatment, with special attention paid to cleaning the paint layer, repairing cracks on the wooden support, and repairing the peeling paint layer, gilding, and silver on the frame. The cleaning was carried out in four stages – removing surface impurities, removing varnish, material that was under the varnish attached to the painted layer, removing the overpainting, and cleaning the frame. This was followed by puttying, retouching, and varnishing. The works were carried out as part of the conservation and restoration project of the collection of icons and iconostases of the Diocese of Pakrac and Slavonia of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The conservation was carried out by painters-restorers Dragana Jelić and Zorana Matković, while the project manager was sculptor-conservator Jovan Ćeranic. Photography: Maria Erdelji
