Hakob Hovnatanyan was the fifth generation from the Hovnatanian family. He succeeded the patriarch of the family Naghash Hovnatan (1661–1722), a famous poet and painter. Naghash lived in the Caucasus during the
Safavid era. Hovnatanyan received his training from Mkrtum Hovnatanyan, his father, and painted the walls of some churches with his father in
Armenia and
Tiflis in his youth. His widespread fame began when he was awarded the golden medal from Saint Petersburg Art organization in 1841. After that, he was notably considered by Georgian media. His masterpieces were created from 1840 to 1850. He achieved an accomplished technique as a portraitist in this era and portraits of princes, the clergy and rich people were the main subjects of his works. Georgian-born Armenian film director
Sergei Parajanov made a short art film about him in 1967 entitled
Hakob Hovnatanyan. == Moving to Iran ==