Portrait of Karen Kamsarakan 1935

Martiros Sarian created this oil-on-canvas portrait of Karen Kamsarakan in 1935. The traditional, time-honored medium of painting here speaks to a desire for permanence, yet also possesses an inherent fluidity. Sarian's brushstrokes are visible, almost impatiently applied, giving the surface a lively texture. This directness, in turn, speaks to the labor involved, the artist’s hand and eye working in concert. We are reminded that painting, while sometimes considered a rarefied activity, is, at its root, a matter of physical work. The rapid strokes of the brush reflect the speed of modern life in the Soviet Union at the time, and the pressure to create a new visual language for a rapidly changing society. Oil paint’s capacity for layering and blending, so prized in earlier centuries, is here used to create a sense of immediacy. Sarian captures not just a likeness, but a moment in time. It encourages us to reflect on the value of materials, the making process, and the artist's touch, as we reconsider traditional notions about the work involved in artistic creation.