plate no. 6616

Old Tbilisi

Martiros Sarian, 1917

oil, canvasExpressionismcityscapebuildingsfiguresanimalsstreetcityscapemountain

what to study here

It shows how a warm, flat, nearly shadowless palette can still build depth through three value zones and a warm-to-cool shift.

Study how color and placement carry depth here, since the picture has almost no shadow modeling and no linear perspective. The vision guide describes a nearly shadowless, frontal view lit from the upper left, with a pale straw-yellow ground and sky as the lightest value. Squint and three tonal zones appear: bright foreground, mid-value buildings in ochre, red-brick and pink, and cool, darker mountains behind. That separation, not drawn perspective, is what reads as space. The darkest darks are kept few and local: window recesses, roof shadows, the oxen, and the cypress silhouette. Windows are bold strokes of dark, red or blue rather than rendered panes. Figures, cart and oxen are small, simplified shapes on a shallow stage. Brushwork stays visible and direct. Edges on key forms such as window frames, corners and the cypress stay decisive, while the mountains recede. Copy the value map and the warm-to-cool shift first, then add color accents.

key decision

The painter kept the whole scene in a warm, light-valued yellow key and reserved the darks and cool blues for small accents and the distant mountains. Depth comes from that value and temperature separation, not from perspective or shadow modeling.

recreation guide

Martiros Sarian’s 'Old Tbilisi' (1917) is a cityscape that reflects his role as a founder of the modern Armenian national school of painting, characterized by vibrant colorism and expressive forms (Source 3). The work likely employs the principles of simultaneous contrast, where juxtaposed colors intensify each other’s appearance, a technique Sarian would have utilized to capture the luminous quality of the Caucasus landscape (Source 1, Source 3). As an expressionist cityscape, the painting prioritizes emotional impact and color intensity over strict topographical accuracy, aligning with the tradition of using landscape to convey spiritual or atmospheric elements rather than mere documentation (Source 6).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

5 items

steps

6 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (high chroma)	To achieve the intense, expressive color contrasts characteristic of Sarian's style.	—
Canvas	Support for the oil medium.	Linen or cotton canvas, primed with gesso.
Linseed oil or Copal varnish	Medium for glazing and scumbling to build luminosity.	Stand oil or damar varnish mixed with odorless mineral spirits.
Bristle brushes	For applying opaque layers and scumbling.	Hog bristle filberts and flats.
Soft brushes	For glazing transparent layers.	Sable or synthetic round brushes.

preparation

surface prep

Prepare a white or light-toned ground to allow for the luminous effects described in Sarian’s coloristic approach. While specific preparation for this 1917 work is not detailed in the sources, traditional oil painting practices of the period often involved a neutral or white ground to facilitate glazing techniques (Source 4).

underdrawing

Sarian’s expressive style suggests a loose, gestural underdrawing rather than rigid linear precision. The focus is likely on capturing the overall composition and light relationships early on, consistent with the impressionistic and expressionist tendencies of his period.

underpainting

Consider a grisaille or monochrome underpainting to establish values before applying color. This technique, described as extracting red and yellow to translate what remains in nature, allows for subsequent glazing of intense hues (Source 4). This method supports the 'exaggeration' of natural phenomena required to imitate nature’s luminous intensities (Source 1).

color palette

Vibrant Reds and Oranges

Cadmium Red, Cadmium Orange, Vermilion

General use in Sarian’s palette to capture the warmth of the Caucasus; likely used for rooftops or sunlit walls.

Deep Blues and Ultramarines

Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue

Shadows and sky; used to intensify adjacent warm tones through complementary contrast.

Yellows

Cadmium Yellow, Yellow Ochre

Highlights and sunlit areas; complements purples/blues.

Greens

Viridian, Sap Green

Vegetation; used to intensify adjacent reds.

composition

As a cityscape, the composition likely avoids exact bisection of the picture space, positioning the horizon to emphasize either the sky or the urban density (Source 7). Sarian’s works often feature a center of interest that prevents the image from becoming a mere pattern, guiding the viewer’s eye through the urban landscape (Source 7). The arrangement of buildings and natural elements likely creates a coherent composition where the sky and weather are integral to the mood (Source 6).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing→varnishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the basic forms of the cityscape loosely, focusing on the placement of major architectural elements and the horizon line.
Tip — Avoid rigid lines; keep the drawing flexible to allow for expressive color application.
Gestural sketching

underpainting

step 02
Apply a monochrome underpainting (grisaille) to establish light and shadow values, excluding red and yellow tones.
Tip — Ensure the underpainting is dry before proceeding to glazing.
Grisaille

first pass

step 03
Apply broad areas of color, focusing on the dominant hues of the scene. Use complementary colors to intensify each other (e.g., place blue tones next to orange to make the orange appear more vibrant).
Tip — Observe how adjacent colors modify each other’s appearance without mixing them on the palette.
Simultaneous contrast

refining

step 04
Glaze transparent layers of color over the underpainting to build depth and luminosity. Scumble semi-opaque layers to create texture and atmospheric effects.
Tip — Use oil or varnish mixtures for glazing to maintain transparency.
Glazing and scumbling

finishing

step 05
Adjust contrasts and intensities by surrounding colors with their complements to enhance brilliance or with similar hues to soften them.
Tip — If a color appears too pronounced, soften it by surrounding it with more intense tones of the same hue.
Color intensification

varnishing

step 06
Apply a final varnish to protect the painting and unify the surface sheen.
Tip — Ensure the painting is completely dry before varnishing.
Varnishing

critical techniques

Simultaneous Contrast

Juxtaposing complementary colors to intensify their appearance, a principle Sarian likely employed to capture the vivid light of the Caucasus.

Glazing and Scumbling

Using transparent and semi-opaque layers to build color depth and texture, a method practiced by old masters and relevant to Sarian’s expressive style.

Exaggeration of Natural Phenomena

Enhancing color intensities beyond natural observation to imitate the luminous effects of nature, as nature possesses intensities not available on the palette.

common pitfalls

→Mixing complementary colors on the palette instead of juxtaposing them on the canvas, which neutralizes their intensity rather than enhancing it (Source 1).
→Applying glazes before the underpainting is dry, leading to muddiness and loss of transparency (Source 4).
→Overworking the painting, losing the expressive quality and luminosity achieved through layered glazing.
→Ignoring the horizon line placement, resulting in a balanced but static composition (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 visual details of 'Old Tbilisi' (e.g., exact building arrangements, specific color choices for this painting) are not described in the provided sources.
·Sarian’s specific preparatory methods for this 1917 work are not detailed; inferences are based on general oil painting practices and his broader style.
·The exact medium ratios (oil to varnish) used by Sarian are not specified.

grounded in

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

The Science of Painting↗
- 4. When two colours separated by more than two others... — applied to Color intensification and simultaneous contrast techniques.
The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Glazing and scumbling techniques.

cross-referenced from

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

Wikipedia: Martiros Sarian↗
- Biography — applied to Artist’s background, style, and role in Armenian painting.
Wikipedia: Landscape painting↗
- Landscape painting — applied to Cityscape composition and atmospheric elements.
Wikipedia: Composition (visual arts)↗
- Composition — applied to General compositional principles.

Read more about the corpus on the sources page and how the guides are built on the methods page.

read from the painting

observed from the image, not the label

6 dominant colors, measured

what the eye sees

Light pours from the upper left, washing the entire scene in warm golden-yellow ground and pale sky, creating a nearly shadowless, frontal composition. The eye lands first on the vivid yellow-and-pink building complex occupying the left-center, its colored window frames acting as visual anchors; the red brick structure to its right competes for attention. A calm, shallow stage of human and animal figures (cart, oxen, figures in robes) occupies the ground plane at human scale, while the blue mountains and cypress tree anchor the far distance, establishing depth through atmospheric shift rather than linear perspective.

value structure

The lightest light is the pale straw-yellow ground and sky; the darkest darks are concentrated in window recesses, the oxen's body, roof shadows, and the cypress tree's silhouette. Medium values cluster in the building walls (ochre, red-brick, pink) and the figures' clothing. Squint and you'll see three tonal zones: bright foreground, mid-value buildings, and cool-dark background mountains—this separation is what reads as depth.

observed palette and mixes

#e1d173
yellow ochre + white, weighted toward yellow
primary ground plane, left building facade, sky's warm lower registers
#c4b179
yellow ochre + raw sienna + white
mid-tone wall surfaces, shadowed portions of the yellow building, some roof tiles
#b28c5f
raw sienna + yellow ochre + touch of red oxide
warm shadows on building corners, earth tones in foreground figures' robes
#593f48
alizarin crimson + ultramarine + yellow ochre (dark, warm brown)
deepest recesses in windows, roof shadows, oxen's dark hide, cypress tree
#77878c
ultramarine + white + touch of alizarin
window panes, mountains in distance, cool shadows on right buildings

edges and brushwork

Edges are deliberately simplified and slightly soft: building outlines are clean but not mechanical, window frames read as bold strokes of dark color rather than rendered detail, and figures are suggested with minimal internal modeling. Brushwork is direct and visible—not blended into invisibility—particularly in the bold red and blue window frames and the massed foliage of the cypress. The effect is graphic and intentional, prioritizing color and shape over descriptive detail.

a working sequence

01
Establish the warm ground and sky wash
Thin yellow ochre with white and linseed oil; broadly brush this pale straw tone across the entire lower two-thirds (the ground plane). Move upward and add more white and a whisper of blue to the upper sky. Work loose and wet; you want soft atmospheric gradation from warm below to cool above. This sets the luminous foundation everything sits on.
02
Block the building masses in mid-value local color
Mix a warmer ochre (yellow ochre + raw sienna + white) and block in the left yellow building and its upper pink section as one large shape; use a brighter pure yellow for accents. Block the central red-brick building in a rusty red (alizarin + raw sienna + white). Keep these shapes flat and direct—no modeling yet. Establish the small right buildings in pale ochre-white. Work at the scale of the whole, not details.
03
Place the darkest architectural and landscape anchors
Mix a deep warm brown (alizarin + ultramarine + yellow ochre) and mark the cypress tree's foliage mass, the roof shadows, and the recessed window cavities. Use the same dark to suggest the oxen's body and the mountain silhouette in the distance. These darks create visual weight and push the scene forward; they're your value locks.
04
Paint the bold window frames and doors
Use ultramarine + white for the cool blue window panes on the lower left and right buildings; use a deeper blue for the shadowed panes. Paint the red window frames on the central building in alizarin + ochre, bold and direct. The yellow building's windows are dark (same warm brown as step 3). Don't shy away from the saturation—these frames are declarative, not subtle.
05
Block in the figures and cart
Using thin, simplified strokes, suggest the robed figures in warm ochre-brown (raw sienna + yellow ochre + touch of alizarin); paint the oxen in the dark warm brown from step 3. The wooden cart wheel is a simple pale cream (yellow ochre + white). Keep figures schematic and small—they're part of the street life, not portraiture. The goal is silhouette and placement, not anatomy.
06
Develop the mountain and distant landscape
The mountains read as a cool, muted blue-grey (ultramarine + white + touch of alizarin). Paint them softer and cooler than the foreground, recessing them visually. The small cypress shape behind the buildings is a compact green (ultramarine + yellow ochre + white, darkened). The fence rail is a warm pale tan. These elements sit behind the main buildings, so their edges can be slightly softer.
07
Unify and refine edges and accents
Step back and assess: soften any hard transitions between ground and buildings with a thin glaze or dry-brush layer where they meet. Reinforce the darkest darks in windows and shadows where they've lost crispness. Add a few flicks of darker ochre in the foreground ground plane to suggest shadow cast by the figures. Ensure the yellow building's warm glow reads against the pink section—they should feel like one mass with color variation, not two separate planes.
08
Final atmospheric and value check
Squint at the painting from across the room. The foreground should feel warmly lit and bright; the mountains cool and receding; the buildings should sit comfortably between. If the ground feels too yellow-green or the sky too blue, you've lost the golden luminosity. A final thin warm glaze (yellow ochre + white) over the ground, lightly dry-brushed, can restore the sunlit warmth. Leave the work with painterly energy visible—do not over-smooth.

where studies of this painting go wrong

Rendering the windows as literal, detailed panes instead of bold, flat graphic shapes. The windows here are strokes of color, not transparent glass—simplify ruthlessly.
Making the buildings feel three-dimensional through shadow modeling when they should sit nearly flat, front-facing, with color doing the work instead. Resist adding shadow beneath eaves or to wall planes.
Losing the golden atmospheric warmth by mixing the sky or ground too blue or grey. The entire palette leans warm; keep your yellows and ochres dominant, even in shadows.
Over-detailing the figures and animals. They are silhouettes and gesture, not portraits. A single stroke for an ox's body, a simple robed form for a person—trust the simplification.
Allowing edges everywhere to become equally soft. Key edges (window frames, building corners, the cypress silhouette) should remain crisp and read as decisive strokes, while atmospheric edges (mountains, distant fences) soften.

measured difficulty