Hakob Kojoyan was born in Akhaltsikhe (now in Georgia) to a family of Armenian jewelers. As a boy he apprenticed to the goldsmith's craft and learned engraving. At age 20 he went to study art in Munich, Germany, and in 1905 went to the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in Russia, where he studied for two years. He later spent time in Paris and Moscow, then in 1918 returned to Armenia.