View from the Banks of the River Araks 1954

Martiros Sarian painted this view from the banks of the River Araks with oil on canvas using bold strokes and a warm, earthy palette. It's like he’s inviting us to witness a place where the land meets the sky in a dance of color. The physicality of the paint is really striking. Look at how Sarian loads the brush with generous amounts of thick, opaque color. You can almost feel the texture of the rugged terrain and the cool, blue sky. There, see how he drags the brush across the canvas in these long, sweeping gestures? It gives the landscape a sense of movement, as if the wind is constantly shaping the hills and mountains. Sarian’s work reminds me a little of Milton Avery, with its simplified forms and emphasis on color relationships. Like Avery, Sarian understands that art is less about representation and more about capturing the feeling, the essence of a place. It’s a conversation across time, where artists borrow, respond, and reinterpret ideas in their own unique way.