Grigor Khanjyan
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Grigor Khanjyan (; 29 November 1926 – 19 April 2000) was a Soviet and Armenian artist, painter, and illustrator. He is most notable for his illustrations of historical novels and poems, and murals and tapestries on historical topics. In 1983 Khanjyan was appointed a member of the highest order of chivalry in Soviet art (only 159 members during Soviet history) – the " People's Artist of Soviet Union".


Biography


Early years

Khanjyan was born in Yerevan, Soviet Armenia. He was the fourth and last child of Sebuh and Verginie - genocide survivors from Yerznka, who settled in Armenia in 1920. Grigor mentioned on several occasions that a doctor had advised his mother, already in relatively advanced age, to get pregnant in order to avoid some health problems and that is the reason for him to be conceived. Soon after Sovietization of Armenia, Sebuh had to leave his main profession and become an accountant. Grigor had one elder brother who became a musician.


Education

Panos Terlemezian Panos Terlemezian (; 11 March 1865, Aygestan near Van – 30 April 1941, Yerevan) was an Armenian landscape and portrait painter; known for his support of Armenian nationalist causes. Biography His love for painting expressed itself while ...
- who was a friend of Sebuh Khanjyan - first discovered art talent in little Grigor. In 1945, Grigor finished the coursework at Terlemezian Art College in Yerevan and at the age of 19 (together with fellow painters Levon Manaseryan and Van Khachatur) entered the
Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...
in Yerevan. At the Academy Khanjyan mostly studied under the guidance of the prolific thematic-compositional artist
Eduard Isabekyan Eduard Isabekyan (; November 8, 1914 – August 17, 2007) was an Armenian painter, founder of thematic compositional genre in Armenia. Biography *2007 – August 17 Eduard Isabekyan died. Buried in Komitas Pantheon A separate hall is allotted ...
whose influence was strong on the style of Khanjyan's works in early years.


Nationalist painter

Khanjyan never joined the Communist Party (something highly expected for having success in the Soviet Union) and had opted for nationalist instead of Soviet very often. For example, for his graduation work he chose the topic of 1907 Communist Congress in London, but pictured
Stepan Shaumian Stepan Georgevich Shaumian (; ; 1 October 1878 – 20 September 1918) was an Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary and politician active throughout the Caucasus. His role as a leader of the Russian Revolution in the Caucasus earned him the nicknam ...
(ethnic Armenian) instead of
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
(as expected) next to
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
. In 1965, for the All-Soviet Exhibition of Graphic Art Khanjyan sent his illustrations of
Paruyr Sevak Paruyr Sevak (; January 24, 1924 – June 17, 1971) was an Armenians, Armenian poet, translator and literary critic. He is considered one of the greatest Armenian poets of the 20th century. Biography Sevak was born Paruyr Ghazaryan () in the vi ...
's ''The Unsilenceable Belfry'' - a story of
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...
. Further, in 1966 he joined the supreme spiritual council of the
Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...
and befriended the Catolicos
Vazgen I Vazgen I also Vazken I of Bucharest (), born Levon Garabed Baljian (; September 20, 1908 – August 18, 1994) was the Catholicos of All Armenians between 1955 and 1994, for a total of 39 years, the 4th longest reign in the history of the Armenian ...
. For the church he created large-scale tapestries depicting episodes from Armenian history -
Battle of Avarayr The Battle of Avarayr () was fought on 26 May 451 on the Avarayr Plain in Vaspurakan between a Christian Armenian army under Vardan Mamikonian and Sassanid Persia. It is considered one of the first battles in defense of the Christian faith. ...
and Creation of Armenian Alphabet. As the tapestries were held in the Patriarchate buildings, where the common Soviet people could not enter, Khanjyan was asked by
Karen Demirchyan Karen Serobi Demirchyan (; 17 April 1932 – 27 October 1999) was a Soviet and Armenian politician who served as President of the National Assembly in 1999 until he was killed in the Armenian parliament shooting. He had been also the First Sec ...
(then the head of Armenian Communist Party) to reproduce the works as murals at the newly finished Yerevan Arena for Sport and Music (Hamalir). Instead, Khanjyan created the second largest in the Soviet Union theatrical curtain - Mother Armenia - for Hamalir and followed the advice of his friend, architect
Jim Torosyan Jim or JIM may refer to: Names * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy People and horses * Jim, the nickname of Yelkanum Seclamatan (died April 1911), Na ...
and made the murals at the
Yerevan Cascade The Cascade (Armenian: Կասկադ) is a building complex in Yerevan, Armenia. It includes terraced gardens connected by extensive staircases, and includes the Cafesjian Museum of Art. Originally planned in the 1920s, some building was undertak ...
(now
Cafesjian Museum of Art The Cafesjian Center for the Arts (CCA, Armenian language, Armenian: (Gafesčyan arvesti kentron), also known as the Cafesjian Museum Foundation) is an art museum in Yerevan, Armenia. It is located at the central Kentron District, in and around th ...
, then still under construction). Further, he added a third part - Rebirth of Armenia - to make the murals in a form of a triptych. Thus, Rebirth of Armenia was to conclude the triptych ''History of Armenia'' with the greatest figures of 20th century Armenia on it (by the time of the artists demise in 2000, the work was still not finished).


Memberships in various organisations

In 1990, Khanjyan accepted the invitation from the
Academy of Sciences of Armenia The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) (, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri azgayin akademia'') is the Armenian national academy, functioning as the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activ ...
to join it as a full member (receiving the title 'Academician') in the field of Art History.


Legacy

Cafesjian Museum of Art The Cafesjian Center for the Arts (CCA, Armenian language, Armenian: (Gafesčyan arvesti kentron), also known as the Cafesjian Museum Foundation) is an art museum in Yerevan, Armenia. It is located at the central Kentron District, in and around th ...
named one of the main exhibition halls after Grigor Khanjyan - ''Khanjyan Gallery'' - as it is home to one of his most famous historical paintings - the mural
triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...
'History of Armenia'. The ''Rebirth of Armenia'' section of the triptych was chosen as a symbolic background for
US Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
's speech in July 2010. In 2016
Central Bank of Armenia The Central Bank of Armenia () is the central bank of Armenia with its headquarters in Yerevan. The CBA is an independent institution responsible for issuing all banknotes and coins in the country, overseeing and regulating the banking sector and ...
minted a commemorative coin with Khanjyan's tapestry 'Vardanank'.The caption to the coin 'Vardan Mamikonian-1625' reads: "Reverse: a fragment from the tapestry “Vardanank” by G. Khandjian."
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Notable works


Book Illustrations

* Abovian's
Wounds of Armenia ''Wounds of Armenia'' () is an 1841 historical novel by Khachatur Abovian. Written in the Araratian (Yerevan) dialect, ''Wounds of Armenia'' is considered Abovian's ''masterpiece''. It is Abovian's debut novel, the first Armenian novel and the f ...
(1958) * Sevak's Never-abating Bell Tower (1965)


Paintings

* In the Painter's Studio (1953) * Portrait of My Son (1960) * Sunflowers (1970) * Twilight (1962) * Bread of the Highlands (1972) * Still-life with Sunflowers (1978)


Tapestries and Murals

* Vardanank * Creation of Armenian Alphabet * Rebirth of Armenia


Religious

* Altarpiece of
Etchmiadzin Cathedral Etchmiadzin Cathedral is the Mother church#Church as a building, mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located in the city Dual naming, dually known as Etchmiadzin (Ejmiatsin) and Vagharshapat, Armenia. It is #Oldest cathedral, usuall ...
* Altarpiece of the Armenian Cathedral of New York


Gallery


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khanjyan, Grigor People from Yerevan 1926 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Armenian artists 20th-century Armenian painters Artists from Yerevan Full Members of the USSR Academy of Arts People's Artists of the USSR (visual arts) Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the USSR State Prize Socialist realist artists 20th-century Armenian illustrators 21st-century Armenian illustrators Armenian still life painters Ethnic Armenian painters Soviet illustrators Soviet painters Soviet printmakers