plate no. 0332

Old Yerevan, Kond

Petros Malayan, 1973

oilExpressionismcityscapecityscapebuildingshousesarchitectureurbanhillside

what to study here

It shows how restrained earth colors, a three-zone value plan and one white accent can control a complex, crowded hillside cityscape.

The useful lesson here is how a narrow range of warm earth tones can still organize a crowded hillside. The vision analysis describes ochres, siennas and umbers, with the darkest darks in building shadows, window openings and the foreground. Squinting reduces the picture to three zones: dark foreground, medium building mass, light sky. Study how that simple division holds many overlapping buildings together. Light comes from the upper left, warming exposed walls and dropping deep shadows into crevices and courtyards. The white laundry at center-left is the brightest accent. Because everything around it stays muted, it becomes the entry point, and the eye then climbs the building cluster along the slope. Look at the edges too. Building silhouettes and window frames are hard and definite, while foliage and atmospheric areas are softer. Strokes are broad and gestural, with dry-brush scumbling on weathered walls, and the laundry gets looser, lighter touches than the heavier building strokes. Note how little detail is stated: planes are suggested, not described.

key decision

The painter kept the whole canvas in warm mid-to-dark earth tones and reserved the brightest value for the white laundry, making it the single entry point. Value zones (dark foreground, medium buildings, light sky) carry the depth.

recreation guide

This recreation guide addresses Petros Malayan’s 1973 oil painting 'Old Yerevan, Kond,' an expressionist cityscape. While the provided sources do not contain specific visual descriptions of this particular artwork’s content (such as specific buildings or street layouts), they offer robust technical frameworks for executing an expressionist cityscape in oil. The approach relies on traditional oil painting methods, specifically the use of a monochrome underpainting (grisaille) to establish form and value before applying transparent color layers. This method aligns with the 'old masters' technique described in the sources, which emphasizes mental extraction of red and yellow tones during the initial stages to build a structural foundation (Source 1). The composition should adhere to general principles of visual ordering, ensuring a clear center of interest and avoiding exact bisections of space (Source 4).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 6-8 sessions (allowing for drying times between glazing layers)

materials

6 items

steps

5 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (Ultramarine, Black, White, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red, etc.)	Primary medium for underpainting and glazing	—
Linseed oil	Medium for thinning paint and creating glazes; essential for the 'fat over lean' rule	Stand oil or refined linseed oil
Mineral spirits or Turpentine	Solvent for cleaning brushes and thinning initial washes	Odorless mineral spirits (OMS)
Canvas or primed panel	Support surface	—
Charcoal or thinned paint	For initial sketching/underdrawing	Vine charcoal or diluted burnt umber
Palette knives and brushes	Application of paint; knives for scraping or impasto, brushes for glazing	—

preparation

surface prep

Prepare a standard oil-primed canvas. While the sources do not specify Malayan’s exact ground, traditional oil painting practice suggests a stable, absorbent surface. Ensure the surface is clean and free of dust before beginning the underdrawing (Source 5).

underdrawing

Sketch the cityscape composition using charcoal or thinned paint. Focus on establishing the 'center of interest' and ensuring the horizon line does not bisect the canvas equally, but rather emphasizes either the sky or the ground to create a more dynamic composition (Source 4, Source 5). Avoid exact bisections of picture space (Source 4).

underpainting

Execute a grisaille (monochrome) underpainting. Mentally extract red and yellow colors from your mental image of the scene, translating what would remain if those colors were absent. Use black, ultramarine, and white to establish values and forms. This layer must be completely dry before proceeding (Source 1). This technique helps in building a structural foundation similar to methods used by old masters (Source 1).

color palette

Ultramarine/Black/White

Ultramarine blue, Ivory black, Titanium white

Grisaille underpainting to establish value structure

Yellow Tones

Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow

Glazing and scumbling to reintroduce warmth and light

Red Tones

Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson

Glazing and scumbling to add depth and atmospheric warmth

composition

As specific visual details of 'Old Yerevan, Kond' are not described in the sources, apply general composition principles for cityscapes. Ensure there is a clear center of interest to prevent the work from becoming a mere pattern (Source 4). Use detailed areas contrasted with 'rest' areas to guide the viewer's eye (Source 4). Avoid placing the prominent subject directly in the center unless a formal symmetry is intended; instead, balance it with smaller satellite elements (Source 4).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the cityscape layout on the canvas using charcoal or thinned paint. Establish the horizon line off-center and identify the main focal point.
Tip — Ensure the composition leads the viewer's eye around all elements before exiting the picture (Source 4).
Initial Sketch

underpainting

step 02
Apply a grisaille layer using black, ultramarine, and white. Focus on value contrasts rather than color. Mentally exclude red and yellow hues.
Tip — This layer must be completely dry before adding color to prevent muddiness (Source 1).
Grisaille

first pass

step 03
Begin glazing with transparent coats of yellow and red tones over the dry grisaille. Use oil as a medium initially.
Tip — Glazing is a transparent coat of color that allows the underlying painting to show through (Source 1).
Glazing

refining

step 04
Use scumbling (semi-opaque painting) to adjust tones, particularly over darker grounds to create coldness or grey blooms if desired.
Tip — Scumbling allows the underlying painting to make itself felt while adding texture (Source 1).
Scumbling

finishing

step 05
Apply final layers ensuring the 'fat over lean' rule: each subsequent layer should contain more oil than the previous one to prevent cracking.
Tip — If layers contain less oil, the painting will crack and peel (Source 5).
Fat over Lean

critical techniques

Grisaille

A monochrome underpainting that establishes form and value before color is introduced. It involves mentally extracting red and yellow colors to focus on structure (Source 1).

Glazing

Applying transparent coats of color over a dry underpainting to build depth and luminosity, similar to tinting an engraving (Source 1).

Fat over Lean

A fundamental rule of oil painting where each additional layer contains more oil than the one below it to ensure proper drying and prevent cracking (Source 5).

common pitfalls

→Applying color before the grisaille is completely dry, which can lead to muddying of the underpainting (Source 1).
→Violating the 'fat over lean' rule, causing the paint film to crack and peel over time (Source 5).
→Placing the horizon line exactly in the middle of the canvas, which can create a static and less engaging composition (Source 4).
→Failing to establish a clear center of interest, causing the cityscape to appear as a repetitive pattern rather than a cohesive image (Source 4).

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 Yerevan, Kond' (e.g., specific buildings, street layout, lighting conditions) are not described in the sources.
·Petros Malayan’s specific personal palette or unique stylistic quirks beyond general expressionism are not detailed in the provided texts.
·The exact dimensions of the original artwork are not provided.

grounded in

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

The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Grisaille technique, glazing, and scumbling instructions

cross-referenced from

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

Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- Oil painting — part 2 — applied to Materials, 'fat over lean' rule, and drying times
Wikipedia: Composition (visual arts)↗
- Composition (visual arts) — part 6 — applied to Compositional principles for cityscapes

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

This hillside composition is anchored by a tight, asymmetrical cluster of stone buildings rising from left to right, with light streaming from the upper left that warms the exposed walls and casts deep shadows into crevices and courtyards. The white laundry hanging center-left acts as the brightest accent and primary focal point, interrupting the warm-brown mass. Your eye enters at the laundry, then travels upward through the building cluster, following the diagonal slope of the hillside. The foreground (lower left) sits in shadow and darker values, establishing atmospheric depth as the composition rises and brightens.

value structure

The darkest darks cluster in deep building shadows, window openings, and the foreground—these anchor the composition. The lightest lights are the white laundry and bright sky patches. Most of the image sits in warm mid-to-dark tones (ochres, siennas, umbers), creating a narrow band of working values with few extreme lights or darks. When you squint, the painting reads as three distinct value zones: dark foreground, medium building mass, light sky.

observed palette and mixes

#504d43
Raw umber + Payne's gray; deepen with burnt sienna
Deepest shadows in building crevices, window openings, dark foreground
#8c8265
Raw sienna + raw umber
Mid-tone building walls, shadowed sides of structures
#a29879
Yellow ochre + raw sienna + white
Lighter, sunlit building walls; weathered stone surfaces
#786e53
Burnt sienna + raw umber
Architectural shadow details, cast shadows on lighter walls
#646353
Payne's gray + burnt sienna (warm black)
Outline strokes defining building edges and sharp architectural forms
#bdb499
Titanium white + touch of yellow ochre; pure white for laundry
Sky, brightest light areas, white laundry cloths

edges and brushwork

Edges are deliberately expressive—hard and definitive along building silhouettes and window frames, but softer and more blended in foliage and atmospheric areas. Brushstrokes are visible and gestural; the artist uses broad strokes to suggest building planes rather than describe them precisely. Notice the dry brush scumbling on weathered wall surfaces and the economical, confident handling of architectural details. The laundry is rendered with loose, light touches that contrast with the heavier, more deliberate strokes of the buildings.

a working sequence

01
Block in value structure and composition
Using raw umber thinned with linseed oil, establish all major building masses as simplified geometric forms—rectangles, trapezoids, irregular polygons. Focus on how buildings overlap and sit relative to one another on the hillside. Block the foreground dark, the mid-ground medium, and the sky light. Don't detail; just establish the clear value separation and spatial arrangement. This is your roadmap for everything that follows.
02
Develop architectural structure and shadow placement
Strengthen the value contrast by deepening shadows in building crevices, courtyards, and beneath overhanging roofs with a mix of raw umber and Payne's gray. Suggest window and door openings as dark shapes. Indicate the light direction (from upper left) by ensuring the left-facing walls catch light and right-facing walls fall into shadow. Add quick marks for the laundry's position as light, reserved areas.
03
Introduce warm ochres and siennas into walls
Begin layering warm mid-tones over the umber underpainting. Mix raw sienna, yellow ochre, and white into various proportions to create wall surfaces with subtle, weathered color variation. Work from warm mid-tones toward lighter ochre-tan on sun-facing walls, keeping shadow areas anchored in deeper siennas and umbers. The walls should read as aged stone, not uniform—vary the warmth and tone across adjacent buildings.
04
Establish atmospheric depth and refine building forms
Ensure value transitions clearly from dark foreground through medium mid-ground to lighter distant forms, creating the illusion of hillside space. Refine building edges—make them harder and more defined for structures closest to the viewer, softer where buildings recede. Add definition to major architectural features: window muntins, door frames, balconies. Keep strokes expressive; suggest detail rather than paint it meticulously.
05
Add foliage and integrate cast shadows
Block in the muted olive-green foliage on the left using a mix of Payne's gray and yellow ochre (greens here are neutral, not vivid). Layer cast shadows across sunlit walls using burnt sienna mixed with the underlying wall color, reinforcing the light direction from upper left. These shadows should feel like architectural elements, not arbitrary marks.
06
Refine focal point and finalize
Ensure the white laundry reads as the brightest, most attention-grabbing element—any surrounding values may need subtle adjustment to make it pop. Check that the overall warm, earthy palette is consistent throughout; no colors should be bright or saturated. Add final textural touches with dry brush in weathered areas, refine any awkward edges, and ensure the composition feels unified and atmospherically coherent.

where studies of this painting go wrong

Painting buildings as uniform, repetitive units—each structure has unique proportions, window arrangements, and weathering patterns; vary your mark-making and color slightly from building to building to avoid monotony.
Overworking architectural details (window frames, stonework, roof tiles)—this painting's power lies in simplified masses with suggested details; avoid the temptation to render every opening precisely.
Straying from the muted, earthy palette—the strength of this composition is its restraint; bright, saturated colors will break the cohesive, aged atmosphere.
Losing the hillside sense through poor value management—atmospheric perspective is key; ensure the foreground reads clearly as closer (darker, warmer) and distant areas as farther (lighter, cooler).
Making the laundry an afterthought—this is your brightest focal point and must read clearly as white cloth catching light; establish its position early and protect that brightness throughout.

measured difficulty