Fine art of the XIX and early ХХ centuries

After the liberation of Eastern Armenia from the Persian yoke and its annexation to the Russian Empire, ties with Western and Russian art were strengthened. Secular art and, mainly, painting started to develop in a new direction.

In the 1830-70s history of the Armenian fine arts portrait painting began to occupy leading place. Among the portrait painters of the period, we should note Hakob Hovnatanyan Jr. and Stepanos Nersisyan - a follower of the academic school.

Nersisyan is considered the founder of the everyday life genre in the Armenian fine arts. He was the first in Armenian artist to combine a genre plot with a broad depiction of the landscape, painted from nature. In the first half of the 19th century, with the appearance of engravings and lithographs by Aghafon Hovnatanyan and Hovhannes Katanyan, Armenian panel graphics began to develop.

In the XIX century, there were many Armenian artists among the students of the Imperial Academy of Arts.

In 1860-1870s one of the founders of the romantic trend in Armenian painting, seascapeist Mkrtich Chivanyan was working.

Because of unfavorable political and economic conditions in Armenia, Armenian artists were primarily engaged in their creative activity in Tiflis, St. Petersburg and Moscow, as well as in the cities of Western and Eastern Europe, which contributed to the enrichment of their creativity with new artistic skills, devices and traditions of these host countries. They devoted their thematic works to the life of the Armenian nation, nature and history of Armenia. Hereby, in the 1880s a whole pleiad of artists appeared, who had dedicated their work to national themes.

At the end of the XIX century (1880-1890), A. Shamshinyan created realistic domestic paintings. He practically became the main continuer of the thematic genre in Armenian painting after S. Nersisyan. This genre, however, reached the highest development level in the works of one of the most remarkable Armenian artists, who created at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries - Vardges Surenyants. He created a series of paintings on historical subjects. Surenyants also acted as a theater artist and illustrator. He was a member of the «The Wanderers» («Peredvizhniki») оrganization.

Since the 1900s, some modernist approaches can be found in Surenyants’s paintings. He is also considered the largest graphic artist among those of that era’s Eastern Armenia. Surenyants’s contemporaries - Emmanuil Maghdesyan and Vardan Makhokhyan are masters of sea landscape. Realistic seascapes of Makhokhyan often have romantic shades, in some cases indirectly adjoining to symbolism. E. Nazaryan worked in the portrait genre, Hmayak Artsatpanyan - in portrait and everyday life genres, Karapet Chirakhyan - portrait and landscape genres. In the 1890s, landscape becomes independent genre of the Armenian painting. The founder of professional landscape painting is Gevorg Bashinjaghyan. His works, created with great skill and a sense of patriotism, depicted the nature and historical monuments of Armenia. Paintings with landscapes of France, Russia, and Georgia also occupied a significant place in the artist’s works. At the same time, Bashinjaghyan was known as the ideologist of classical artistic heritage preservation. In the landscape genre, Shamshinyan and Shishmanyan also worked.

Eghishe Tadevosyan, Panos Terlemezyan and Stepanos Aghajanyan created plot pictures in the vein of a realistic democratic trend of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century. Initially, works by Eghishe Tadevosyan had a significant influence on Surenyants’s art, especially in the national theme. However, since the 1900s, the artist has been more inclined to the impressionistic, pointillist methods of artistic expression. Panos Terlemezyan worked mainly in the portrait genre, however, the artist's manifested his talent also in everyday life and landscape genres.

The works by Hakob Hakobyan are quite notable - portraits, everyday life paintings and landscapes of which are distinguished by realistic skill and thematic unity. At the beginning of the 20th century, Martiros Saryan started his creative activity in Moscow. At the beginning of his creative path, Saryan worked in the traditions of symbolism. In his early works, it is noticeable that the artist was engaged in search for artistic expression new means.

At the beginning of the 20th century, etching master Edgar Shahin and Tigran Polat worked in Paris. In 1916 in Tiflis due to the Armenian artists’ efforts «Union of Armenian Artists» was founded. At the beginning of the 20th century, artists Khachatur Ter-Minasyan, David Okroyants, G. Gabrielyan, Arsen Shapanyan, Hovsep Pusman and others worked.

Graphics develops in the works of Arshak Fetfajyan and Vano Khojabekyan. Khojabekyan’s works depict scenes of Tiflis everyday life, they differ in their sense of humor, with an expressive grotesque touch. Fetfajyan entered the history of the fine arts of Armenia with his watercolor works depicting the historical monuments of Ani.

Fine art of the ХХ century

Since the 1920s, Armenian artists have increasingly begun to settle down in Armenia. In the new art school formation process Martiros Saryan's and Stepan Aghajanyan's works played a significant role. Saryan's skills were  particularly brightly manifested in the genre of landscape, characteristic portraits, still life. Aghajanyan created in the realistic portrait genre. In the Armenian painting, landscape  took the key place. In this genre Panos Terlemezyan, Eghishe Tadevosyan, Gabriel Gyurjyan, Sedrak Arakelyan also worked.

Alexander Bazhbeuk-Melikyan, Eghishe Tadevosyan, Hakob Kojoyan and others, created thematic works. Kojoyan began to play one of the leading roles in book graphics and panel painting. Theatrical painting was developed in the works by Georgy Yakulov, Martiros Saryan, Michael Arutchyan and others.

For painting of the 1940-1950s development of the plot genre, a new way of life - work scenes, historical subjects, as well as still life and landscape are more characteristic. Among the greatest artists of the mid-20th century there are Mariam Aslamazyan, Ara Bekaryan, Eduard Isabekyan, Grigor Khanjyan (the latter is also one of the most outstanding representatives of the Armenian 20th century painting), Hovhannes Zardaryan, Minas Avetisyan, Seiran Khatlamadjian, Alexander Grigoryan and others. The prominent painters such as Harutyun Galents and Petros Konturjyan repatriated from abroad. Lavinia Bazhbeuk-Melikyan started working in the genre of portrait, still-life and landscape since the second half of the 20th century.

In the second half of the 20th century, Sargis Muradyan created his masterpieces: «The last Night: Komitas» (1956), «Wedding in Hrazdan» (1960), «Sasun people» (1974).

Modern Armenian Painting

Modern Armenian painting is represented by artists of all directions. Their works can regularly be seen not only in the framework of the exhibitions within Armenia, but also abroad, and many well-known salons in Russia, Europe and the USA exhibit these works for sale. We can mention Grigor Azizyan's (1923-2003) and younger artists' – Artur Sarkissian's, Melik Ghazaryan's, Samvel Harutyunyan's, Albert Salyan's, Ashot Mkrtchyan's landscapes.

Artur Sarkissian's works are an example of abstract art. The main themes of his pictures are the liberation from the shackles of the Soviet past, the search for deep sources of Armenian culture in the pre-Soviet past.Armenian culture’s fundamental sources in the period before the Soviet. In 2005, in an interview with art historian Tamara Sinanyan, he noted: «My approach to painting is built on the desire to overcome the shackles of social realism». Paintings, silkscreen, excerpts from texts, signs, architectural elements, excerpts from other paintings are joined together on the canvases of his paintings. Among other things, Artur Sarkissian shows that the «aesthetic collage» possesses both separating and consolidating qualities that define the contemporary composition - the most significant art heritage of the 20th century. In his paintings, there is a motive for searching the heritage of the past, from samples of applied art to interiors, from architecture elements to seals, signs and manuscripts.

Most of the works by Alexander Aghabekov are collages on glass, including the complex technique of a multi-layer collage, created by the author himself. The metaphorical imagery of the artist's works corresponds to his original plastic method, based on the imposition and translucence of sonorous color planes. He is also an author of installations.

The graphic artist Rudolf Khachatryan was the student of the painter and sculptor Yervand Qochar. His creative development took place in the 1960s, when there was an active renewal of artistic traditions happening.

Sevada Grigoryan's exhibitions are held all over the world: in Japan, China, Russia and the USA. In 2014, the artist was invited to Nanjing. In China, he created more than a dozen paintings and participated in multiple exhibitions in various cities.

A number of works by artist Arevik Arevshatyan, a member of the Union of Artists of Armenia, is represented in the Museum of Modern Art in Yerevan, as well as within private collections in different countries.

Artist Hovik Zohrabyan is known for his graphics. He has lived and worked in Yerevan, Moscow, St. Petersburg. Since 1988, and to this day the artist has been living in Odessa.

Arshak Sargsyan studied at the National Center for Aesthetics in Armenia, and then continued his studies at the art school in Cyprus with the support of the «Paros» Foundation. His solo exhibitions were held in London, Bremen, Moscow, Paris and New York. He was commissioned to create a product for passenger terminals at the international airport «Zvartnots» in Armenia. In his works, he addresses the life of a modern human: its complexities and contradictions.

During his creative work, the artist Volodya Margaryan (Valmar) organized 40 individual and 120 group exhibitions in Armenia, Russia, Estonia and Latvia, in the cultural centers of Europe, the Middle East and America. His works are represented in museums and galleries of Armenia, Russia, the USA, Spain, Japan, France, as well as in private collections. In recent years, Valmar has worked closely with the galleries «Kew» (USA) and «EVAN».

Karen Alekyan was born in the city of Gyumri. He graduated from the Merkurov Fine Arts School in Gyumri, the Terlemezyan Art School in Yerevan and the Gyumri branch of the Yerevan State Academy of Arts. Alekyan's works are exhibited abroad.

Artist Sergey Narazyan, who graduated from the Yerevan State Institute of Fine Arts, calls himself a neo-realist. He draws inspiration from people's daily lives and their interactions.