The Proclamation of Dušan's Law Codex
The Proclamation of Dušan's Law Codex is the name given to each of seven versions of a composition painted by Paja Jovanović which depict Dušan the Mighty introducing Serbia's earliest surviving law codex to his subjects in Skopje in 1349. The Royal Serbian Government commissioned the first version for 30,000 dinars in 1899, intending for it to be displayed at the following year's Exposition Universelle in Paris.
Proglašenje Dušanovog zakonika (The Proclamation of Dušan's Law Codex), Paja Jovanović, oil on canvas, 1900, National Museum of Serbia
The Prizren Manuscript of Dušan's Code
Detail showing Dušan emerging from the church, flanked by his wife and young son, as his law codex is proclaimed to the people
The painter and art critic Nadežda Petrović described the painting as Jovanović's greatest work
Pavle "Paja" Jovanović was a Serbian realist painter who painted more than 1,100 works including: 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. Paja was also the premier portraitist of Europe after 1905. He painted the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria 15 times, he painted royalty, major industrialists, scientists, bankers, oil barons and monopolists, including certain heirs to the Standard Oil fortune in the United States. He was a very sought-after portraitist world-wide, which made him incredibly wealthy in his lifetime. Many European and international museums carry his works, signed under various names including: Paul Joanowitch in the National Gallery of Victoria and also two portraits in the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Paul Joanowits, Paul Ivanovitch, Paul Joanovitch, Paul Joanovitsch, P. Joanowitsch and others.
Pavle "Paja" Jovanović before 1900
A young Paja Jovanović (1899)
The Wedding of Emperor Stefan Dušan (1904)
The Fencing lesson (1884)