The Armenian merchant through the eyes of the Baroque era artists and patrons
The Rijksmuseum in Netherlands houses an intriguing Baroque-period figurine of an Armenian merchant with the monkey (Armeense koopman met aap, anoniem, ca. 1700 - ca. 1725). The personage of Armenian identity, draped in Oriental costume, wearing a turban and seated on a pearl as a chair, is involved in the whimsical action of receiving a diamond from the brown monkey. Being created of gold, pearls, and precious stones by anonymous Dutch draughtsmen and serving as an embodiment of the 18th century exotic and opulent taste and also the symbol of the wealth of its unknown, yet well-to-do patron, however, this work
The Daughter of Armenia and her story
The Art Institute of Chicago houses an oil painting (dated: 1912) by Ralph Elmer Clarkson (American, 1861–1942), entitled "Nouvart Dzeron, A Daughter of Armenia".A student of the artist, Nouvart Dzeron posed for him in Armenian traditional garments (taraz) supplied for the sitting by her grandfather. Clarkson highlighted the rich blue and gold of the garments by positioning Dzeron against an unadorned background with strong lighting reminiscent of Spanish Baroque painter Diego Velázquez and French realist Édouard Manet. Clarkson was part of Chicago’s artistic community, establishing a studio in the city in 1896, active in several local arts organizations, and teaching
The beauty of rural Armenia and Armenian people mirrored in Nana Gyulikekhvyan’s art
Member of the USSR Union of Artists, Honored artist of Armenian SSR, Nana Gyulikekhvyan was born in Gyumri/Leninakan. She studied at the Yerevan Art College (1942-1947) and the Art and Theater Institute (1948-1953), workshops of M.A. Aslamazyan and B.A. Kolozyan. Participant of exhibitions since 1954, including the All-Union Art Exhibition to the 50th anniversary of the USSR in Moscow (1972). Her works are mostly in the Nikolaev Art Museum.In her work, she often refers to the images of rural workers. It is in them that she sees the manifestation of the true essence of the Armenian people and the true
The female master of the Armenian blue-and-white porcelain
A beloved and prolific Armenian ceramic painter, Marie Balian (1925-2017) studied at the Beaux Arts of Lyon, where her family had settled. Her family hailed from Kütahya (Kutahya), which is historically known for its Armenian ceramic industry, and were forced to flee due to the Armenian Genocide. In 1954, Balian married into the Balians, a family of Armenian potters, in Bethlehem, Palestine. In 1955, Setrag and Marie moved to Jordan where they had three children. For almost 10 years, due to the agreement between the partners Neshan and Mgrditch, Marie could not introduce her talent to the ceramic studio. In 1964, as
The Armenian female artist who brought to life Armenian folklore in clay and porcelain
The Armenian female artist Hripsime Simonyan (1916-1998) is regarded one of the founders of Armenian applied art during the Soviet era. She was an Armenian artist and sculptor, who made an invaluable contribution to the development of decorative art and ceramics. She was rewarded as being People's Artist of Armenia (1974). In 1945, she graduated from the Tbilisi Art academy, majoring in sculpture, minor ceramics. From 1956 she took over the position of head of ceramics department of the Yerevan State Art and Theatre institute, from 1977 she has been awarded with a professor degree. In 1945, she started the department
