GRIGORIJE SAMOJLOV(Serbian 1904-1989)
Icon of the Mother of God- 1944
Oil on canvas
Signed upper left "G. Samojlov" and dated 1944, and also inscribed in Cyrillic upper left and upper right. Frame with original engraved dedicatory plaque dated 1944.
24.75 inches x 18.1 inches (63 x 46.2 cm)

Born in 1904 in Chekhov, Russia, Grigorije Ivanovic Samojlov was one of 40,000 Russians who immigrated to the former Yugoslavia following the Revolution. For over six decades, Samojlov made a name for himself in Belgrade as an architect, professor, author, and painter. Perhaps one of his most notable works as an architect and painter was the creation of the iconostasis now adorning the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in Belgrade’s Central Cemetery. Samojlov carved the iconostasis while detained in Stalag (Stammlager) IX-C, a German prisoner of war camp, in 1943-1944 using scraps of steel, horse shoes and the oak sills of an old railway line. During that time, Samojlov also painted the now characteristic icons ornamenting the iconostasis, which are identical in style, color and palette to the offered painting.

The original engraved title plaque ornamenting the frame of the offered lot reads "Ihrem hochverehrten Kommandanten 1.8.43-10.12.44 Offiziere, Soldaten, Beamte und Gefolgschaft M. Stammlager IX – C, Bad Sulza Thür.", Their revered commander; 1.8.43-10.12.44; Officers, soldiers, civil servants and followers; M. Stammlager IX-C, Bad Sulza, Thüringia. While it is unknown to whom this painting was presented, it can be certain that it was painted by Samojlov during his time of detainment in the prisoner-of-war camp. After the war, in 1945, Samojlov (along with the iconostasis) returned to Belgrade, where he continued his prolific and notable career as an architect until his death in 1989 at the age of 85.

See: Radovan Pilipovic, The Temple of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Belgrade, 2008