The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia purchased a work of art – oil on canvas (44.5 x 53.5 cm) “Resting Guard” by author Paja Jovanović, through a public auction on April 28, 2026, at the Sotheby’s auction house in London.
The Government of the Republic of Serbia authorized the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in the United Kingdom to buy the precious work at a public auction, which has enriched the cultural heritage of our country and will be kept by the Historical Museum of Serbia as part of its art collection.
The achieved auction price is 170,000 pounds (more than 2,300,000 dinars), excluding associated costs.
Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković pointed out that the purchase of this precious painting by Paja Jovanović, “Resting Guard,” represents the continuation of a consistent and responsible cultural policy aimed at the protection, preservation, and return of our cultural heritage.
“In the previous period, we managed to return numerous precious cultural assets to the Fatherland, such as a silver candlestick from the court of the Obrenović dynasty, a framed photograph of Queen Natalija, two Serbian manuscript books ‘Serbian Octoechos’ and ‘The Life of Barlaam and Josaphat’, then letters from Mileva Marić Einstein and Albert Einstein, then King Milan’s cane with a binocular in the handle, then a pitcher from a princely service, as well as Uroš Predić’s painting ‘Portrait of a Girl with a Book in an Armchair’. Now, to that series of valuables, we add a representative work by one of our greatest painters, Paja Jovanović. This is not a mere coincidence, but a consistent state policy to return cultural treasures belonging to our people home, preserve them in our museums, and leave them to future generations as a permanent testimony of our identity and history. For all of this, we express special gratitude to the President of the Republic and the Government,” said the minister.
About Paja Jovanović
Pavle Paja Jovanović (1859—1957) is the most significant Serbian representative of academic realism and is one of the most prominent painters of European and Serbian art from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The painting “Resting Guard” belongs to his famous Orientalist cycle, which brought the artist world fame.
“Resting Guard,” like other paintings of this theme, represents a significant document of the recognition of the Balkans, Serbia, and Montenegro, but also territories that remained under Ottoman administration, as a special area of Europe in which, besides conflicts and differences, common characteristics, cultural specificities, and values exist.
As a painter who succeeded in connecting the European Orientalist genre with the warrior and epic ethos of the Balkans, giving it ethnographic precision and an impression of authenticity, Paja Jovanović managed to raise local Balkan motifs to the level of universal artistic value.
Given that a large part of Paja Jovanović’s Orientalist opus is located in private collections around the world, the Ministry of Culture, by purchasing this painting, enabled the Historical Museum of Serbia, as a national protection institution, to complete its fund.
The art collection of the Historical Museum of Serbia is continuously developing through purchases and gifts in order to provide a comprehensive view of national history. The largest number of Paja Jovanović’s works are located in the National Museum of Serbia and the Belgrade City Museum, which includes the Paja Jovanović Legacy.
By purchasing this painting, the Historical Museum of Serbia has been enriched with a representative work from the Orientalist opus of Paja Jovanović.
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Source: Kurir; Photo: Ministarstvo kulture