To the spring 1909

Curator: Looking at this piece, “To the Spring” from 1909 by Martiros Sarian, there's a kind of heat, an almost palpable brightness coming off it. It’s oil on canvas, and you’ve got these sun-drenched mountains towering in the background… What does it evoke in you, as a Formalist? Editor: I'm immediately struck by its formal simplicity—the bold use of color and shape create a rather striking image, certainly. The composition, built on angular forms of the mountains, leads down a gentle curve toward the foreground figures. There's tension there, between angular abstraction and figurative presence. Curator: Angular abstraction… yes! The mountains almost vibrate with color—those yellows shifting into blues—and then that forward movement created by the travelers, they're also simplified, earthy but… almost hurried. I feel their journey. The suggestion of figures atop some kind of working animal making their way along a dry creek bed, under the gaze of those mountains – there’s a timelessness there, but also such human urgency! Editor: I see the narrative, yes. But if we strip back that impulse to contextualize, what remains? A play of contrasts. Warm and cool colors. The static form of the landscape balanced by the dynamic of movement indicated in the figures. It's interesting to me how Sarian deploys these tensions. There is also a sense of how the paint has been applied in thick blocks, adding texture that is interesting to decode in semiotic terms. Curator: True, but that “timelessness” is also part of its orientalism; that feels unavoidable, doesn’t it? Those broad strokes and almost dreamlike quality; I mean it takes you somewhere, right? Do you think the Fauvist style helps convey something beyond what more representational art of the time was accomplishing? Editor: Indeed! Fauvism allowed Sarian to prioritize the expressive power of color, form, and structure over descriptive accuracy. Which, to me, provides an exciting departure. Sarian reduces the image to the basics. And those mountains… They are simplified almost down to geometric forms, really. So…it functions, perhaps, as a meditation of a journey stripped to its basic components. Curator: A meditation... that feels right! The bold colours evoke a deep longing and heat; a certain vibrancy of the spirit? Looking at "To the Spring" now, that’s what sits with me - the emotional punch. It is bold and joyful but that journey also reminds us that transformation, in both the physical world and in life, demands effort and strength. Editor: Ultimately, "To the Spring" stands as testament to Sarian’s cleverness, how his unique treatment allows form, colour, and construction, to act as powerful tools. And how a scene so simple at its root manages to conjure deeper meaning!