Martiros Saryan in the Sanahin Monastery
In 1901-1904, Martiros Saryan made a grand tour across Armenia. He traveled around Lori and Shirac, visited Echmiadzin and Yerevan, saw Lake Sevan.
In the summer of 1902, Saryan visited Ani - the ancient capital of Armenia. «In the colorful corners of the southside, in our ancient country, I once again recalled the fairy-tale world of my childhood memories», - mentioned the artist, sharing his impressions of the trip.
The landscapes of the native land filled Saryan's paintings with colors. «Everything I wrote since 1904 has been a tangle of reality and fantasy. Reality, because I wrote under the impression of what I had seen. Fiction, because I synthesized it with my own imagination».
In a photo as of 1902, Martiros Saryan is depicted next to a khachkar in the Sanahin monastery, founded in the X century. He is the second person in the bottom.
