Who do we think of when talking about famous Armenian creatives and innovators?

Is it Rouben Mamoulian, the first director to use a mobile camera with technicolor and a multiple channel sound track?

Ross Bagdasarian, singer/songwriter and creator of “Alvin and the Chipmunks”?

This is artist and painter Stepan Aghajanian, born 1863 in Shushi, Artsakh. Stepan left his Armenian family to travel all around Europe to fulfill his desire to create and innovate. His travels took him to studying stints at the Paris Julian Academy in France and later teaching art in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

Aghajanian was able to capture the life and light of each figure he painted at the time.

Known primarily for his portraits and landscapes, Aghajanian became a pioneer for contemporary and modern art. Showcasing both the beauty and pain of Armenian culture with every drop of paint he used, his art lives on to tell the stories of our great grandparents, from the opulent gilded age to their new lives post-genocide. 

Stepan Aghajanian was a master at capturing the realism of his muses. Most noticeably, his ability to capture and exaggerate facial expressions in both hyper-realistic and translucent ways. From painting princesses to fishermen, Aghajanian was proficient at having each portrait to tell a story through their eyes. 

Here’s a selection of our favorites from his collection of art with certain thoughts as we have them: 

1. Portrait of Mother (1900)

Much like the image we paint in our minds of our own mothers being beautiful and graceful saints, it is clear to imagine that Aghajanian had a similar feeling towards his own mother when painting a portrait of her.

Surrounded by detailed and textured red Ottoman rugs, she sits as a calm statuesque woman.

2. Portrait of a Fisherman (1912)

This painting is notably different from the rest. Being that Aghajanian focuses so heavily on the eyes of his subjects, the fisherman is almost unseen here.

Why is that? Has the fisherman seen things he wishes to hide? Or is he simply taking his spare moment away from the water to shade his skin in the shadows?

3. Self Portrait (1926)

4. Vasil (1926)

5. Portrait of V. Aghajanian, the Wife of the Artist (1926)

Learning this woman is Stepan's wife explains why this painting is so exquisitely done.

Each stroke must have taken an extra minute or two, and each color combination creates an eternal memory. Coming from a time where cameras were a new obsession, Aghajanian brought life, emotion, and nostalgia to this painting that a camera simply could not.

6. Pioneer (1934)

7. Portrait of Artist Elena Baronkina (1935)

8. Unknown

9. Unknown

Many of Stepan's work has gone either nameless or no written record was ever distributed to accompany his pieces.

Despite this, Stepan Aghajanian was a master storyteller through his artwork. We often forget about all the amazing things the Armenian people have created around the time of the 1915 Genocide. His time teaching in Russia lasted until 1921, when he returned to Armenia upon the onslaught of the Russian Civil War.

However, the story of Stepan and his work is a true testament of the Armenian character, finding beauty and nostalgia in every corner. His work can be forever remembered and admired, but it is up to keep it alive.