Pavle "Paja" Jovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Павле "Паја" Јовановић; IPA: [pâʋlɛ pǎːja jɔʋǎːnɔʋit͡ɕ]; 16 June 1859 – 30 November 1957) was a Serbian realist painter who painted more than 1,100 works including:[1][2] The Wounded Montenegrin (1882), Decorating of the Bride (1886), The Takovo Uprising (1894), Migration of the Serbs (1896) and The Proclamation of Dušan's Law Codex (1900).

As one of the best European painters of oriental scenes, Paja at the end of the 19th century turned to painting historical events of Serbian history.

However, at the time when the ecclesiastical municipality in Vršac decided to order new bells for the Cathedral and when it was necessary to create drawings of saints, it became known about his talent.

Thus, already at the age of fourteen, Jovanović received his first commission, and, thanks to significant praise, a kind of pass to Vienna and the opportunity to enroll in the Academy.

[8] In the following period, having noticed the greater interest of Europe for the Balkans, he painted mostly scenes from the life of the Serbs, Montenegrins, Herzogivinans, Aromanians and Albanians, which brought him a great reputation.

Encouraged to visit the Balkan region during his hiatus, he studied the customs and folklore of the people,[9] and in 1882 he was awarded the prize of the Academy and was given the Imperial scholarship for the composition The Wounded Montenegrin.

[citation needed] The public and many art critics directed their attention to the young painter, and in 1883 he signed a contract with the "French" gallery in London.

[13] A great number of sketches, notes, and studies, along with the collected objects from the life of the common people, will find their place in his famous genre-compositions, such as: Fencing, Decorating of the Bride, and Cockfighting.

Some of the most famous include those of Painter Simington, Mihajlo Pupin, Đorđe Jovanović, King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and others.

In 1940 he was made honorary citizen of Vršac, and in 1949 he was given the Order zasluga za narod (Merit for People) of the first category.