plate no. 8984

On the mountain slopes

Martiros Sarian, 1922

oilExpressionismlandscapemountainstreeslandscapefieldsskyfigures

what to study here

It shows how three value zones, a warm-cool split, and selective hard edges can organize a simplified landscape with very little detail.

Start with the value structure, because the picture is organized around it. Squint and you get three zones: a light upper half of blue sky and sunlit mountain, a middle band of ochre and golden fields, and a dark blue-green tree mass with dark foreground lines. The white building is the only crisp highlight, and it sits against the tree band, so the eye goes there. Then look at temperature. Warm ochre and sienna mountains sit against a cool blue sky, and light from the upper left warms the left slopes while the right side goes cooler. The shadow notes are mixed, muted darks, not tube colors. Finally, study the edges. Sky and mountain transitions are soft and merged, and hard edges appear only where value contrast is strongest. The foreground diagonals stay crisp and directional, and they break up the warm earth and pull the eye down from the peak. Notice how few shapes carry the picture: trees are simplified dark masses, and strokes run horizontally with the layered land.

key decision

The painter set a dark tree band and dark foreground diagonals against a light, warm-cool upper half, keeping hard edges only at the strongest value contrasts. The white building is the single crisp accent.

recreation guide

Martiros Sarian’s 'On the mountain slopes' (1922) is a landscape work rooted in his role as a founder of the modern Armenian national school of painting, heavily influenced by his travels to Armenia and the Middle East (Source 6). The artwork likely exhibits the expressive, high-contrast tonal relationships characteristic of Sarian’s style, where dramatic effects are achieved through sudden jumps from dark to light rather than subtle half-tones (Source 7). As an Expressionist landscape, it prioritizes the emotional impact of the scenery—mountains, valleys, and sky—over topographical accuracy, aligning with the tradition of depicting natural scenery with a coherent composition that may include imaginary or exaggerated elements (Source 2).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

6 items

steps

6 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (Ultramarine, White, Black, Red, Yellow)	Primary pigments for monochrome underpainting and color glazing	—
Linseed oil	Medium for thinning paint and creating glazes	Stand oil or refined linseed oil
Mineral spirits or turpentine	Solvent for cleaning brushes and thinning initial layers	Odorless mineral spirits
Canvas	Support for the painting	Linen or cotton canvas, primed
Charcoal or thinned paint	Initial sketching of the composition	Vine charcoal or diluted oil paint
Palette knives and brushes	Application of paint, scraping, and texturing	—

preparation

surface prep

The canvas should be primed to accept oil paint. While Sarian’s specific ground preparation is not detailed in the sources, traditional oil painting practices of the period often involved a white or neutral ground to allow for the 'fat over lean' rule, ensuring each subsequent layer contains more oil than the previous one to prevent cracking (Source 5).

underdrawing

Begin by sketching the subject onto the canvas using charcoal or thinned paint to establish the basic forms of the mountain slopes and sky (Source 5). Focus on the contour and mass of the landscape rather than minor details, emphasizing the outlined shape to convey volume and three-dimensional perspective (Source 1).

underpainting

Create a monochrome underpainting (grisaille) using black, ultramarine, and white, mixed with oil of copavia or linseed oil (Source 4). This step establishes the tonal values, focusing on the dramatic contrasts between light and dark areas to create intensity (Source 7). Ensure this layer is completely dry before proceeding.

color palette

Ultramarine

Pure ultramarine pigment

Underpainting and cool tones in sky/shadows

White

Lead white or zinc white

Highlights and mixing for lighter tones

Black

Ivory black or lamp black

Deep shadows and underpainting

Red

Vermilion or cadmium red

Warm accents and glazing

Yellow

Yellow ochre or cadmium yellow

Warm accents and glazing

composition

The composition likely features a wide view of natural scenery, such as mountains and sky, arranged into a coherent whole (Source 2). Sarian’s landscapes often draw on the spiritual element of nature, with strong contrasts of tone values coupled with color contrast between warm sunlit land and cold blue skies to create dramatic effect (Source 7). Specific compositional details are not described in the sources, so rely on general principles of landscape painting where the sky is almost always included and weather is an element of the composition (Source 2).

step by step

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

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the mountain slopes and sky using charcoal or thinned paint, focusing on the contour and mass of the forms.
Tip — Emphasize the outlined shape to convey volume rather than minor details.
Contour drawing

underpainting

step 02
Apply a monochrome underpainting using black, ultramarine, and white to establish tonal values.
Tip — Focus on dramatic contrasts between light and dark to create intensity.
Grisaille

first pass

step 03
Once the underpainting is dry, begin glazing and scumbling with oil, applying yellow and red tones as they occur in the landscape.
Tip — Use transparent coats of color to build up intensity, similar to tinting an engraving.
Glazing and scumbling

refining

step 04
Enhance color brilliance by surrounding colors with their complements; for example, make orange tones appear more orange by surrounding them with blue tones.
Tip — Exaggerate color phenomena to imitate nature’s luminous intensities.
Simultaneous contrast

finishing

step 05
Apply final layers of paint, ensuring each layer contains more oil than the previous one to adhere to the 'fat over lean' rule.
Tip — Avoid cracking by maintaining proper oil content in each layer.
Fat over lean

varnishing

step 06
Allow the painting to dry completely before applying a varnish to protect the surface and enhance color depth.
Tip — Ensure the painting is fully dry to prevent trapping solvents.
Varnishing

critical techniques

Contour drawing

Used to emphasize the mass and volume of the landscape subjects, focusing on outlined shapes rather than minor details.

Glazing and scumbling

Applied over a dry monochrome underpainting to build up color intensity and transparency, a method practiced by old masters.

Simultaneous contrast

Used to enhance color brilliance by juxtaposing complementary colors, such as orange and blue, to make each appear more intense.

Fat over lean

Ensured by applying each additional layer of paint with more oil than the layer below to prevent cracking.

common pitfalls

→Applying layers with less oil than the previous layer, which can lead to cracking and peeling (Source 5).
→Focusing too much on minor details rather than the mass and volume of the landscape, which undermines the expressive impact (Source 1).
→Failing to allow the monochrome underpainting to dry completely before glazing, which can muddy the colors (Source 4).
→Not exaggerating color phenomena enough to imitate nature’s luminous intensities, resulting in a flat appearance (Source 3).

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 'On the mountain slopes' (e.g., exact color distribution, specific mountain shapes) are not described in the sources.
·Sarian’s exact palette for this specific painting is not documented; the palette is inferred from general oil painting practices and color theory.
·The specific texture and brushwork techniques used by Sarian in this painting are not detailed in the sources.

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 Underpainting and glazing techniques
The Science of Painting↗
- 4. When two colours separated by more than two others — applied to Color theory and simultaneous contrast
The Practice and Science of Drawing↗
- MONTE SOLARO CAPRI — applied to Tonal relationships and dramatic contrasts

cross-referenced from

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

Wikipedia: Contour drawing↗
- Contour drawing — part 1 — applied to Underdrawing phase, emphasizing mass and volume
Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- Oil painting — part 2 — applied to General oil painting techniques and 'fat over lean' rule
Wikipedia bio — Martiros Sarian↗
- Martiros Sarian — part 1 — applied to Artist background and inspiration
Wikipedia: Landscape painting↗
- Landscape painting — part 1 — applied to Composition principles for landscapes

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

A high-horizon landscape where warm ochre and sienna mountains dominate the upper-middle register against a bright blue sky, with their peak rising toward the left-center. A dark horizontal band of tree masses sits in the middle distance above undulating golden fields, with a small white building nestled among the trees. The foreground is fractured by dark diagonal lines (paths or plowed rows) that cut across the warmer earth tones. Light falls from the upper left, warming the left slopes and creating cooler shadows on the right; the eye moves from the mountain peak down through the tree line and is arrested by the strong diagonals of the foreground.

value structure

Three distinct value zones: the high-key blue sky and mountain lit-side (lightest), the medium ochre and warm fields (middle), and the deep blue-green tree mass with dark foreground lines (darkest). When squinted, the composition reads as a light upper half anchored by a dark middle band, with strong shadow geometry in the foreground. The white building provides the only crisp highlight, drawing focus to the tree line.

observed palette and mixes

#6191b7
Ultramarine blue + Titanium white, slightly grayed with burnt sienna
Sky throughout the upper half
#ae8a66
Yellow ochre + Titanium white, warm cream tone
Illuminated fields and lighter mountain slopes
#a27658
Burnt sienna + Yellow ochre, earthy mid-tone
Mid-ground fields and mountain base areas
#9f6649
Burnt sienna + touch of Ultramarine blue, warm shadow
Mountain right slope shadows and darker field areas
#785f57
Burnt sienna + Viridian green, muted brown transition
Transitional zones between mountain and field
#433d4d
Ultramarine blue + Viridian green + Burnt sienna, deep shadow
Tree line, foreground paths, and shadow geometry

edges and brushwork

Brushwork is deliberately loose and visible, with soft, merged transitions in the sky and mountain that suggest atmosphere rather than sharp definition. Horizontal strokes follow the landscape's layered structure. The tree masses are simplified dark shapes with minimal individual articulation. Hard edges appear only where value contrast is strongest—between bright sky and mountain, and between light fields and dark tree band—while foreground paths maintain crisp, directional lines that guide the eye.

a working sequence

01
Lay in the composition with thinned burnt sienna
Sketch the horizon line roughly one-third to two-fifths up the canvas, the mountain peak center-left, the tree band horizon, and the major diagonal foreground paths. Use a dry brush to indicate these only—no blending. This establishes the compositional scaffolding.
02
Block the sky
Flood the entire sky area with a loose, single note of blue—Ultramarine + white with a hint of burnt sienna to mute it slightly. Let it be uneven; expressionistic skies are rarely uniform. Work quickly and don't overblend.
03
Establish the mountain mass
Paint the mountain as one warm shape using Yellow ochre + Burnt sienna for the lit left slope, then add Ultramarine into the mix for the shadowed right side. Follow the contour of the peak; keep the forms simple and broad. The mountain should read as a single warm passage against the cool sky.
04
Paint the tree line
Lay a dark horizontal band across the middle distance using your darkest mix: Ultramarine + Viridian + touch of Burnt sienna. Keep this shape loose but definitive—it's the anchor between sky and land. Leave a small area lighter for the white building.
05
Block in the middle and foreground fields
Paint the undulating field area between the tree line and foreground with warm ochres and light siennas. Vary the tone—use Yellow ochre for lighter passages, Burnt sienna + ochre for warmer mid-ground, and introduce cooler notes near shadows. Work loosely, following the slope of the land.
06
Strike in the foreground diagonals
Using your darkest value, paint the diagonal paths cutting through the foreground with confident, linear strokes. These dark lines should feel deliberate and geometric, contrasting the softer landscape above. Don't make them ruler-straight; slight variation reads more natural.
07
Suggest the tree silhouettes
Within and above the dark tree band, indicate individual tree shapes as dark, simplified forms—circles or ovals against the landscape. Space them in a rhythm across the middle distance. Keep them suggestive, not detailed; a few dark vertical marks hint at trunks.
08
Adjust and harmonize
Step back and squint. Check that your darks are dark enough, your sky blue is consistent in temperature, and your warm field tones sing against the cool above. Add the white building as a final accent. Loosen any overworked edges with a dry brush; let the painting breathe.

where studies of this painting go wrong

Overblending the sky and mountain—expressionistic paintings live in their loose transitions. Aim for soft but visible brushstrokes, not photographic smoothness.
Making the trees individually detailed or realistic. They must remain simplified masses to maintain the composition's bold abstraction and rhythm.
Using pure, bright colors straight from the tube. The painting's strength comes from muted, mixed harmonies—every color needs a touch of its complement or a neutral to sit well.
Treating the foreground paths as secondary. These diagonal lines are compositionally critical and should be painted with confidence and clarity, almost linearly, to contrast the softer landscape.
Losing the warm-cool temperature relationship. The sky's cool blue must remain distinctly different from the warm earth tones; this contrast is the painting's primary visual strategy.

measured difficulty