Assadullah Souren Melikian-Chirvani, also known as Souren Melikian (born 5 December 1936), is a French-Iranian art historian,

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogu ...

, and curator. He is a renowned scholar of Iranian culture, and its sphere of influence.

Background

He was born on 5 December 1936, 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. ...

to an Armenian father, Kevork Melikian (Georgiy Melikov), and Azerbaijani mother, Kawsar Asadullayeva. His father was accused of taking part in

March Days The March Days or March Events () was a period of inter-ethnic strife and clashes which led to the death of about 12,000 Azerbaijani: "The results of the March events were immediate and total for the Musavat. Several hundreds of its members wer ...

, but he was not found guilty after it was found out that he was defending his Muslim friend. Melikian's paternal grandfather Ambartsum Melikov was an oil billionaire who owned A.S.Melikov and Co in Baku. His maternal-grandfather was

Mirza Asadullayev Mirza Asadullayev Shamsi oghlu ( az, Mirzə Əsədullayev Şəmsi oğlu; 1875–1936) was an Azerbaijani industrial magnate, philanthropist and statesman who served as Minister of Industry and Trade in the third cabinet of Azerbaijan Democratic R ...

and thus was a nephew to

Banine Umm-El-Banine Assadoulaeff (Umm El-Banu Äsâdullayeva; 18 December 1905 – 23 October 1992) was a French writer of Azerbaijani people, Azerbaijani descent who wrote under the penname of Banine. Biography She was a granddaughter of Azerbaijan ...

. He grew up with his mother after losing father in 1945.

Education and career

After completing high school in

Lycee Condorcet In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

, Melikian graduated from the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and the

Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales ( en, National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations), abbreviated as INALCO, is a French university specializing in the teaching of languages and cultures from the world. ...

(INALCO). He has served as (since 2005) as Chair of Middle Eastern History at the

French National Centre for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,63 ...

(CNRS). He was named emeritus research director in 2007. He wrote weekly columns on

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

and

art market The art market is the marketplace of buyers and sellers trading in commodities, services, and works of art. The art market operates in an economic model that considers more than supply and demand: it is a hybrid type of prediction market where ...

s for the '' International Herald Tribune'' since 1969. Between 2011 and 2013 he wrote for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. He has served as Senior Collections Adviser for the

Aga Khan Museum The Aga Khan Museum (french: Musée Aga Khan) is a museum of Islamic art, Iranian (Persian) art and Muslim culture located at 77 Wynford Drive in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is dedicated to Islamic art and ob ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melikian, Souren 1936 births Iranian art critics French art critics French curators Living people Iranian art historians