Pavlović Icon-Painting Workshop
Pavlović family
- Institution
- Pavlović Icon-Painting Workshop
- Seat
- Belgrade
- Founded
- 21 September 2003
- Author of the design
- Board for Heraldic and Genealogical Studies
- Icon painter
- Rade Pavlović
- Patron saint's day (Krsna slava)
- St Luke the Apostle and Evangelist (31 October)
Blazon
Divided vertically; the first field blue, the second red. At the centre of the shield is a symbolic depiction of an egg in longitudinal section, in natural colour.
Above the shield is a two-coloured red and blue wreath. In the crest is a depiction of the mountain peak of Lovćen with the chapel of Saint Peter of Cetinje on the very top.
A single supporter on the dexter (heraldic) side: a winged grey ox with a gold halo (the symbol of the Holy Apostle Luke). The supporter steadies the shield with its left foreleg, and with its right holds a lance with the Holy Cross on top and a gold ribbon with the date of the blessing.
Behind the shield, at the foot, two icon painter's tools are crossed: a brush and an agate burnisher, emerging from beneath the shield itself.
On a gold ribbon at the foot, a verse of the Gospel is written in black letters in Church Slavonic: “РОДИТЕ УБО ПЛОДЫ ДОСТОЙНЫ ПОКАЯНИЯ” (Lk 3:8).
Symbolism and meaning
The armorial insignia of the “Pavlović” Icon Painting Workshop of Belgrade were depicted on 21 September 2003. This unusual heraldic composition arose from the deliberations of the Board for Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, and was painted by the icon painter Rade Pavlović.
The colours of the shield symbolise the two natures of the Lord Jesus Christ — the divine and the human. The depiction of an egg at the centre is not only a symbol of the Resurrection and of hope, but also points to the very activity of the workshop, since egg tempera is the basic binder in Orthodox icon painting.
The supporter in the form of a winged ox and the motif of Lovćen in the crest are a direct link with the workshop's patronal feast, the Holy Apostle Luke and Saint Peter of Cetinje, who are commemorated on the same day.
