Martyros Saryan by Vera Razdolskaya
(Great Painters Series)
folio. pp. 176. profusely illustrated. hardcover. dw. London: Parkstone Press, 1998.
New in publisher's shrink wrap.
ISBN-10: 1859953204 / ISBN-13: 9781859953204
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Martiros Saryan (1880 - 1972) was an Armenian painter and the founder of the Armenian National School of Painting. Every country has an artist whose name becomes synonymous with national traditions. For Spain, it is Velazquez; for Germany, Durer; for England, Gainsborough. The artistic symbol of Armenia was and remains Martiros Saryan, whose enormous legacy combines profound philosophical thinking with a joyful perception of the world. His virtuoso, highly original skill combined distinctive elements of Armenian culture with the best that had been achieved in Russian and Western European art. Closest to his creative searchings, particularly in the early period, was the work of the French artists Gauguin and Matisse. Urban and rural landscape, still-life and portraiture - in all these - Saryan sought a concise expression, stressing the harmonious unity of nature and mankind. All stages in Saryan's career are reflected here, and the most characteristic examples of his work in different genres are presented, each of them marked by a vivid individuality. Vera Razdolskaya is a Doctor of Art History and professor at the Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in St. Petersburg.