The Belgrade City Museum, with the support of the Serbian state, President Aleksandar Vučić and the Ministry of Finance, as you know, has purchased Paja Jovanović’s painting “Bashibozuku’s Vacation” at Sotheby’s auction in London for 304,800 pounds, including all fees and taxes.

According to official announcements and the catalog of the National Museum in Belgrade, the work also appears in the literature under the title “Albanian Warrior” and was previously in collections in London and New York. In the catalog “Paja Jovanović: Systematic Catalog of Works” (2012), art historian Petar Petrović emphasizes that the painting was most likely created in the mid-1880s, during the painter’s stay in the Shkodra area.

The work depicts a 19th-century Albanian warrior at rest, in traditional costume, typical Albanian weapons and full combat equipment. It is also known by other names such as “An Albanian Warrior”, “Resting Sentinel from Shkodra” and “The Albanian Chief”.

The director of the Belgrade City Museum, Jelena Medakovic, evaluates the painting as a technically perfectly executed oil, with precise details and high collection value.

Meanwhile, the National Museum of Belgrade emphasizes that the purchase reflects the continued international interest in the works of orientalists and in the early creativity of Paja Jovanovic.
The painting belongs to the artist’s early period and was made in the spirit of academic realism, commissioned by the London gallerist Henry Wallis. Its purchase is considered an important cultural event for museum institutions in Serbia.