Leon Kojen: “Son of the Serbian Nation”*

Artists’ relationships with contemporary social movements, government institutions, or national ideas shape their thematic repertoire and determined exhibition policies and public engagement. This was particularly evident during turbulent political times and in regions that experienced multinational conflict. The activities of Leon Kojen (1859–1934) provide a clear example of the relationship of the artist to society and the State. Kojen was a well-known Jewish painter from Serbia who in his work incorporated Jewish themes, while also expressing a commitment to the idea of the Serbian state. In scholarship to date, this has not been addressed even though it is of particular importance to better understand the art of Leon Kojen and Serbian culture at the turn of the last century.

Leon Kojen was one of the most prominent Serbian artists of the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century (see Figure 1).¹ He was born in 1859 into an old Belgrade Jewish family, in the Jewish quarter of Belgrade, Jalija. According to the preserved oral tradition, the family of Leon Kojen, some of whom were rabbis, settled in Belgrade as early as the 17th century. Leon was born into a large family and was particularly close to his brother David, who was a lawyer (see Figure 2). Even though it was predetermined in his family that he would be a tailor, Leon in his youth decided to pursue the study of painting. In Belgrade he received instruction in the fundamentals of painting from two prominent artists, Stevan Todorović and Djoka Milovanović. During these lessons, he also expanded his knowledge of the world of art and poetry. As there was no fine arts academy in Belgrade, Kojen, like other Serbian artists, went abroad. He decided to hone his painting skills in the capital of Bavaria—Munich. Munich at that time was one of the most significant Central European cultural centers with a rich artistic tradition and a very reputable Academy of Fine Arts. He enrolled in 1882. Along with his studies he engaged in the artistic life of the city. He participated in international exhibitions held in the Glaspalast (Glass Palace), and exhibited with the members of the artists’ group, Phalanx, led by Wassily Kandinsky. Kojen became ill in Munich and so returned to Belgrade after the First World War. He died on 15 May 1934 and was buried in the city’s Jewish cemetery.

Even though the greatest portion of his artistic effort and most significant works were created in Munich, Leon Kojen remained tightly bound to the Kingdom of Serbia and to Belgrade. In Belgrade and Serbia during the second half of the 19th century tolerance toward the Jewish community was well established. Having grown up in this atmosphere of tolerance, Leon Kojen and his brother David considered themselves to be both Serbian citizens and Serbian patriots. They were interested in the current and national political problems of Serbia, and David even participated in political life. During the First World War David fought and died as a soldier of the Serbian army.

While receiving instruction in painting, Leon Kojen was initially helped by prominent members of the Jewish community in Belgrade. They introduced him to Jewish benefactors in Munich, but he chose not to pursue this type of support. Instead, eventually he turned to the government of the Kingdom of Serbia for financial assistance and received a stipend. In his 1884 petition for a stipend, he underscored that he was writing to the Minister of Education and Religious Affairs “as a son of the Serbian nation, desiring to one day be of use to her through his work in the field of art…”² Even though Kojen did not return to Serbia at this time, while in Munich he still made a significant contribution to Serbian artistic life, and in this way he fulfilled the patriotic promise he had made in his 1884 stipend petition. In 1898 Kojen had an exhibition in the halls of Belgrade’s National Assembly. The exhibition drew the attention of foreign critics and was reported in the Serbian press. The critic writing in Brankovo Kolo emphasized...