Bidspirit auction | Martiros Saryan (Armenian, 1880 -

Martiros Saryan (Armenian, 1880 - 1972) - Martiros Saryan (Armenian, 1880 - 1972), ”Collective farmers”(Колхозники), mixed media on paper, signed and dated 1937 l. r., 26,5 x 18,5 cm. Condition On request Provenance The current owner purchased it from the artist's family (documented). Notes Sarayan is one of Armenia’s most important 20th century painters. Street at Evening, a work of museum quality, is a superlative example of Sarayan’s art remaining in private hands. The artist was schooled in Moscow, later exhibiting there alongside his most talented Russian peers, and it can be argued that he also occupies a significant position in the artistic renaissance in Moscow in the years preceding the Revolution. His works are found in both major Russian and Armenian Museum collections. High standards in art education, access to latest trends from Europe and proximity to patronage all acted as a magnet for painters living in remote parts of the Russian empire, or neighbouring countries from the mid 19th century onwards. Russian Art is rarely wholly European, not simply because of its indebtedness to Orthodoxy, but also for its albeit passive role as a cultural gateway to and from the East and South.