The Monastery of Ravanica is located in central Serbia, near the town of Ćuprija, in the foothills of the Kučaj mountains. The monastery church dedicated to the Ascension is the foundation of Prince Lazar and his mausoleum church. Based on the later copies of the founding charter, it can be deduced that its construction was completed in 1381. Painting was finished, most likely, around 1385.

The church plan is a complex triconch, with a cross-in-square in its central section and choir apses terminating lateral arms of the cross. Above the crossing is a dome resting on four pillars, while four smaller domes are between the arms of the cross. The sanctuary area is tripartite with the conchae of the prothesis and the diaconicon. On the remnants of the original narthex, a new one was erected at the beginning of the 18th century. The previous narthex used to be open, with four pillars and a blind calotte over the central bay. Monastery walls had seven towers and a painted paracclesion.

The church was painted in three consecutive sessions, and different groups of painters were employed for each. The great dome was the first one to be painted, then smaller domes, vaults, and upper sections of the walls, while the third group painted the two lowest zones of the nave.

Preserved in the lower zones of the sanctuary are the Liturgy of the archpriests with angels, as well as two scenes from the cycle of the Passion of Christ; in the second row is Christ the Sacrificial Lamb and busts of holy archpriests, while in the third row is the Communion of the Apostlesm standing figures of saints and scenes of Christ’s Miracles. In the semidome of the apse is the Mother of God with the infant Christ and two archangels. Painting in the prothesis and diaconicon is severely damaged.

In the lower zone of the nave are the standing figures of the holy warriors, monks, and hermits. The founders' composition depicts Prince Lazar and Princess Milica on the west wall with their sons Stefan and Vuk. As can be seen in the archival photos kept in the National Museum of Serbia, painted above them was the bust of Christ blessing, shown in the segment of the sky. In the upper zones are busts of saints, scenes from Christ’s public ministry cycles, and Great feasts. In smaller domes, represented in three rows, are the Old Testament righteous and angelic forces, and in the callotes, busts of the Mother of God, Christ the Ancient of Days, Archangel Michael, and Christ Emmanuel. In the great dome are the Evangelists in the pendentives, and between them Mandylion, Ceramion, and two segments of the sky with God’s right hand with symbols of the Evangelists. Arranged in two zones is the Heavenly liturgy, and the remains of the bust of Christ Pantocrator in the calotte.

Ravanica had suffered significantly during its long history; already in 1398, the Turks burnt down the monastery complex. Before the restoration of the Patriarchate of Peć, the monastery was looted and invaded several times. Following that, a period of relative stability and peace ensued, as testified by foreign travelogues. During the Austrian-Turkish wars and in their aftermath, difficult times arose, followed by incineration, famine, making the monastery desolate for almost three entire decades. In 1718, Hieromonk Stefan took it upon himself to restore the church and narthex, which were stripped of their lead roof, leading to deterioration of their structure and painting. In the second half of the 18th century, Ravanica became the center of the rebel movement, which resulted in a number of combats taking place near the monastery, whose church and other buildings were burned down on several occasions. Extensive works on the monument's restoration were carried out in 1844. Between 1957 and 1961, the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments conducted conservation and restoration work on the church.