Armenian from Nakhichevan 1904

Martiros Sarian painted "Armenian from Nakhichevan" with watercolors. Can you imagine him working on this portrait? Applying those thin washes, letting the hues blend so softly. She emerges ethereally from this pale ground of peach and violet and the painting feels like a memory, fading in places. I wonder what it was like for Sarian to capture her likeness? Look at those decisive strokes defining her dark hair against the warm backdrop. It’s incredible how much emotion he conveys with so few marks. Sarian's use of color and form reminds me of other painters like Emil Nolde, who also used expressive color to convey emotional intensity. You can see echoes of Impressionism, too. All of these artists are in conversation, finding ways to push the boundaries of representation and expression.