Exploring the world through her self-portraits. Lavinia Bazhbeuk-Melikyan

Lavinia Bazhbeuk-Melikyan (Armenian: Լավինիա Բաժբեուկ-Մելիքյան) was an Armenian female artist who was a full member of the Russian Academy of Arts, and a People’s Artist of the Armenian SSR. Lavinia Bazhbeuk-Melikyan was born in 1922 in Tbilisi in the family of artist, graphic designer, and sculptor Alexander Bazhbeuk-Melikyan. In 1935 she moved to Yerevan and studied at Panos Terlemezian Artistic College. In 1951 she graduated from V. Surikov Moscow Artistic Institute. In P. Korin’s studios, she worked on creating the inlaid panels for the Moscow “Komsomolskaya” metro station.
From 1962-to 1964, Lavinia was a member of the board of administration for the Artists’ Artists Union; she was the delegate of the 2nd All-union congress of artists.
Since 1988 she has been a corresponding member of the Art Academy of Russia, and since 1997 – the Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation. Since 2002 – a full member of the Russian Academy of Arts. Her works are housed at the Modern Art Museum (Yerevan), National Gallery of Armenia (Yerevan), artistic funds of Armenia and Russia, and in many private galleries and collections in different countries of the world. Lavinia Bazhbeuk-Melikyan died on November 8, 2005.
Her artistic style is characterized by the abundance of self-portraits and portraits of the intellectuals of the time, incorporating ethnic details and patterns into the colorful compositions, depicting rural life and people with warm and vivid brushstrokes, and still life paintings that float between the metaphysical and surrealistic styles.