The resting sentinel

Petar Petrović eloquently described the present motif, 'One of Jovanović's more famous motifs is a warrior from the Balkans resting by a fireplace, most often next to a chimney, from which he takes a coal with which he lights a pipe or a cigarette on a long cigarette holder. In this and similar paintings of smaller formats, Jovanović showed how much dedication and skill he applied to the creation of the figure of the warrior, who was almost always at the center of the composition in the paintings. The artist carefully noted, sketched or collected accompanying details, such as the warrior's costume, which wears a traditional Albanian kilt, fustanella, weapons and other props, during his travels, with the intention of composing them as faithfully as possible in works like this and similar ones.' (P. Petrović, Paja Jovanović - sistemski katalog dela, Belgrade, 2012, p.29).
We are grateful to Petar Petrović for his assistance in cataloguing the present lot.