plate no. 6269

Old Quarter, Yerevan

Petros Malayan, 1968

watercolorExpressionismcityscapebuildingsarchitecturecityscapecourtyardshadowstrees

recreation guide

Petros Malayan’s 'Old Quarter, Yerevan' (1968) is a watercolor cityscape executed in an Expressionist style. The artwork likely emphasizes the structural mass and atmospheric conditions of the urban landscape rather than photorealistic detail, consistent with the Expressionist tendency to convey emotional or psychological states through distorted forms and bold color. As a cityscape, it falls within the broader tradition of landscape painting that depicts urban surfaces, streets, and architectural complexes (Source 2). The medium is watercolor, which, in its substantial form, involves a complex interplay of transparencies, opacities, and impastements, utilizing gum-arabic as an agglutinative agent (Source 1).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

5 items

steps

5 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Watercolor paper (linen rag)	Primary surface; must be high quality to support multiple washes and prevent staining.	100% cotton rag watercolor paper, cold-pressed or rough texture.
Professional grade watercolors	Pigment source; must be ground with gum-arabic for proper adhesion and transparency.	Pan or tube watercolors from reputable brands (e.g., Winsor & Newton, Daniel Smith).
Gum-arabic	Agglutinative agent for the paint, ensuring durability and proper flow.	Included in professional watercolor formulations; can be added separately for glazes.
Charcoal or graphite	Underdrawing to establish composition and correct errors before paint application.	Vine charcoal or 2B pencil.
Brushes (various sizes)	Application of washes, details, and dry-brush techniques.	Hog bristle for washes, sable or synthetic for details.

preparation

surface prep

Use high-quality watercolor paper made from linen rags, bleached by pure water, air, and sunshine if possible, to avoid chemical damage to colors (Source 1). Ensure the paper is dry and has not suffered from dampness during storage, as this causes sizing to ferment and decompose, leading to stains (Source 1). The sizing should be evenly distributed within the paste, not just on the surface, to prevent irregular sponginess during prolonged work (Source 1).

underdrawing

Begin with a charcoal underdrawing to block out the shapes of spaces occupied by masses (Source 5). Use contour drawing techniques to emphasize the mass and volume of the architectural forms rather than minor details, focusing on the outlined shape and three-dimensional perspective (Source 6). Make all corrections in the charcoal stage, as charcoal offers little resistance to a brush and can be easily erased with bread, preventing fatal errors in the paint layer (Source 4).

underpainting

Apply a middle tone wash over the whole surface to establish a base value (Source 5). This allows for the observation of light shapes and the play of lost-and-found edges. Gradations can be achieved by mixing thinner paint with the wet middle tone of the ground (Source 5).

color palette

Neutral tints

Raw umber, burnt sienna, payne's gray

General use in establishing middle tones and shadows, consistent with historical watercolor practices that often confined themselves to neutral tints for sketches (Source 1).

Opaque whites/highlights

Chinese white or titanium white (opaque watercolor)

Impastements and opacities, as modern watercolor includes these techniques alongside transparencies (Source 1).

Local colors of Yerevan stone

Yellow ochre, raw sienna, burnt umber

General use in this artist's palette for depicting the tuff stone architecture typical of Yerevan cityscapes.

composition

Avoid exact bisections of the picture space; position the horizon line to emphasize either the sky or the ground, showing more ground if the focus is on the cityscape structures (Source 8). Ensure there is a center of interest to prevent the work from becoming a mere pattern, and use detailed areas contrasted with 'rest' areas to guide the viewer's eye (Source 8). The prominent subject should be off-centre, balanced by smaller satellite elements, to create a dynamic composition (Source 8).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the basic shapes of the buildings and streets using charcoal, focusing on the mass and volume rather than fine details.
Tip — Correct errors now; do not proceed to paint with obvious construction errors.
Contour drawing

underpainting

step 02
Apply a middle tone wash over the entire paper to establish a base value.
Tip — Observe the shapes of lights and the play of lost-and-found edges on their boundaries.
Blocking out masses

first pass

step 03
Paint the lights by mixing thinner paint with the wet middle tone of the ground, darkening as needed for gradations.
Tip — Ensure the paper is properly sized to prevent uneven absorption and staining.
Wet-on-wet wash

refining

step 04
Add darker tones and details using opaque watercolors or impastements where necessary to create contrast and depth.
Tip — Use dry brush techniques to model forms and add texture, similar to oil painting practices adapted for watercolor.
Opacity and impastement

finishing

step 05
Review the composition for balance, ensuring the center of interest is clear and the eye is led around the elements before exiting the picture.
Tip — Check for exact bisections or symmetrical divisions that may weaken the visual impact.
Compositional balance

critical techniques

Watercolor washes and opacities

Modern watercolor is a complex style including impastements, opacities, and transparencies, mixed in different proportions (Source 1).

Contour drawing

Used to emphasize mass and volume, conveying three-dimensional perspective through line variation (Source 6).

Compositional balance

Avoiding exact bisections and using contrast between detail and rest areas to guide the viewer's eye (Source 8).

common pitfalls

→Using paper that has suffered from dampness, leading to fermented sizing and stains (Source 1).
→Putting down paint with obvious errors in construction or drawing, which is fatal to lucidity (Source 4).
→Dividing the picture space in exact bisections, which weakens the composition (Source 8).
→Over-modeling or being too tied down to the outline, which can make the work appear timid or small (Source 7).

what the sources don't tell us

Where the corpus is silent, we say so rather than guess. These are the gaps a complete recreation guide would normally cover that our source passages don't.

·Specific color palette used by Petros Malayan in 'Old Quarter, Yerevan' is not detailed in the sources; general Expressionist and Armenian landscape conventions are inferred.
·Exact brushwork techniques specific to Malayan are not described; general watercolor and oil painting techniques are adapted.
·Specific visual details of the 'Old Quarter' (e.g., specific buildings, street layout) are not provided in the sources; the guide focuses on general cityscape composition.

grounded in

The technical procedure in this guide traces to the following classical art-instruction texts.

The Science of Painting↗
- CHAPTER XIII. WATER COLOURS — applied to Materials, paper preparation, and watercolor techniques (transparencies, opacities).
The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- PAINTING FROM LIFE — applied to Underdrawing correction and dry brush modeling techniques.
- ON COPYING — applied to General advice on avoiding over-modeling and smallness.
The Practice and Science of Drawing↗
- SET OF FOUR PHOTOGRAPHS... — applied to Blocking out masses and middle tone washes.

cross-referenced from

Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.

Wikipedia: Landscape painting↗
- Landscape painting — part 13 — applied to Definition of cityscape and urban landscape context.
Wikipedia: Composition (visual arts)↗
- Composition (visual arts) — part 1 & 6 — applied to Compositional principles, balance, and visual ordering.
Wikipedia: Contour drawing↗
- Contour drawing — part 1 — applied to Underdrawing technique emphasizing mass and volume.