In this article, parallels are drawn between Hovnatan’s portrait Movses of Khoren and Mkrtoum’s portrait Patriarch Hayk and similar compositions in the Armenian books printed in Venice, thus confirming the assumption that in Hovnatanyans’ art the visible influence of European fine arts also had to do with illustrations of European origin in old Armenian printed books. Nevertheless, the Armenian painters did not just mechanically reproduce the originals, but tried to endow their figures with Armenian traits, produce a typical environment and Armenian symbols.