Gevorg Bashinjaghian ( hy, Գևորգ Բաշինջաղյան; – 4 October 1925) was an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

painter who had significant influence on Armenian

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent com ...

Life

Bashinjaghian was born on 16 September 1857 in a small town of Sighnaghi in eastern Georgian province of

Kakheti Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region ( mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises e ...

, part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

at the time. His father, Zakar, died in 1872 during a trip to Persia, when he was 15. After finishing the local school, he was admitted to the Arts School. In 1878, Bashinjaghian moved to the Russian capital St. Petersburg, where he became a student at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the T ...

a year later. Mikhail Clodt was one of his teachers. He graduated from the Academy in 1883, also winning a silver medal for his ''Birch Grove''. He returned to his hometown Sighnaghi the same year and soon started to travel throughout the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan ( hy, Սևանա լիճ, Sevana lich) is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, ...

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and ...

Ashtarak Ashtarak (Armenian: ), is a town and urban municipal community in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, located on the left bank of Kasagh River along the gorge, northwest of the capital Yerevan. It is the administrative centre of the Aragatsotn pro ...

and the holy capital of the

Armenian Church Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

Ejmiatsin Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is comm ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

and the Northern Caucasus, which caused the artist to make a row of canvas of the local landscapes. During the next year, Bashinjaghian visited Italy and Switzerland, where he learnt about the classic European art and also saw the Alps. He later wrote that "the Alps are beautiful, but they cannot win your heart if you have seen the Caucasus." He returned to Russia and settled in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

, the largest city of the

and the cultural center of Armenians of Russia. In 1890s Bashinjaghian had exhibitions in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

, St. Petersburg and

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known ...

. In 1897, he created a series of oil painting of Ani, the medieval Armenian capital of thousand churches. From 1899 to 1901, Bashinjaghian lived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

with his wife Ashkhen Katanian and their three children. In France, he made a trip throughout the country and produced over 30 paintings. In 1923 Bashinjaghian became a member of the Armenian Artists' Society. Bashinjaghian died on 4 October 1925 in

and was buried at the side of

Sayat-Nova Sayat-Nova (Armenian: Սայեաթ-Նովայ ( сlassical), Սայաթ-Նովա ( reformed); ka, საიათნოვა; ; ; born Harutyun Sayatyan; 14 June 1712 – 22 September 1795) was an Armenian poet, musician and ''ashugh'', who ...

's tomb in the backyard of Saint George Cathedral. Exhibitions of Bashinjaghian's works were held in

St. Petersburg and

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the B ...

, many of them in 1957–1958, in memory of the 100th anniversary of his birth. A street in

is named after him.

Works

Bashinjaghian's best known works include ''

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

Grove'' (1883), '' Alazani Valley'' (1902), ''

Ararat Ararat or in Western Armenian Ararad may refer to: Personal names * Ararat ( hy, Արարատ), a common first name for Armenian males (pronounced Ararad in Western Armenian) * Ararat or Araratian, a common family name for Armenians (pronounced A ...

'' (1912). All are in the

National Gallery of Armenia The National Gallery of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի ազգային պատկերասրահ, ''Hayastani azgayin patkerasrah'') is the largest art museum in Armenia. Located on Yerevan's Republic Square, Yerevan, Republic Square, the museum has ...

in Yerevan. His other works are located in

Art Museum of Georgia The Art Museum of Georgia (AMG) ( ka, საქართველოს ხელოვნების მუზეუმი, ''sak'art'velos khelovnebis muzeumi''), alternatively known as Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts, is one of the l ...

, Museum of Oriental Art (Moscow), and the

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...

in Moscow.

Gallery

File:Bashinjaghyan. Birch Grove.jpg, ''Birch Grove'' File:Bashindzhagian ararat.jpg, ''

'' File:Bashinjagyan5.jpg, ''

Khachatur Abovian Khachatur Abovian ( hy, Խաչատուր Աբովյան, Khach’atur Abovyan; (disappeared)) was an Armenian writer and national public figure of the early 19th century who mysteriously vanished in 1848 and was eventually presumed dead. He wa ...

's house in Kanaker'' File:Gevork Bashindzhagian. Armenian village at sunrise.jpg, ''Armenian Village at Sunrise'' File:Gevork Bashindzhagian. Landscape with pines, 1907.jpg, ''Landscape with Pines'' File:Башинджагян.jpg, Untitled landscape File:Г. Башинджагян. Камни на реке Алгетке.jpg, ''Stones in the '' File:Г. Башинджагян. Сельский вид, 1898.jpg, ''View in the Countryside'' File:G. Bashinjaghyan. Rainy day in Sevan.jpg, ''Rainy Day at

'' File:Башинджагян. Севан.jpg, ''Sunny Day at Lake Sevan''

References

External links

Башинджагян, Геворк Захарович
в Антикварный салон "Петербург" {{DEFAULTSORT:Bashinjaghian, Gevorg 1857 births 1925 deaths 19th-century Armenian painters 20th-century Armenian painters Painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters Armenian people from the Russian Empire Georgian people of Armenian descent

Life

Works

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links