| Nikola Arsenović | |
| Birth Date: | 1823 |
| Birth Place: | Retfala, Kingdom of Slavonia, Austrian Empire |
| Death Date: | July 18, 1887 (aged 64–65) |
| Death Place: | Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbia |
| Citizenship: | Austrian, Serbian |
| Occupation: | tailor, illustrator |
| Known For: | Ethnography of Yugoslavia |
Nikola Arsenović (Serbian: Никола Арсеновић, pronounced as /nǐkola ǎrsɛːnɔʋit͡ɕ/, 1823 – July 18, 1887) is a Serb designer and illustrator of folk costume; being posthumously dubbed a "Yugoslav ethnographer". A tailor by profession, he started illustrating peasant clothing while traveling the lands after having left his family and shop due to unknown reasons. The Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade acquired most of his work, the rest having been bought by various painters.
He was born in Retfala, near Osijek, in 1823,[1] the area being part of the Kingdom of Slavonia of the Austrian Empire (now part of Croatia).
He finished primary school in Osijek, and then decided to become a tailor.[2] As a youngster, he travelled to Pest and Vienna, to perfect the craft, and also further to Paris and in Germany.[2] He was away for 7 years, then returned, settling in Vukovar, where he married and opened a large tailor shop with eight workers.[2] Apart from peasant (or "national") clothing, he also tailored for military officers, clergy and citizens.[2]
He died in Belgrade, on July 18, 1887.[1] He was a Yugoslavist, and called himself a Yugoslav.