plate no. 4991
View of Ararat from Yerevan
Martiros Sarian, 1923
recreation guide
Martiros Sarian’s 'View of Ararat from Yerevan' (1923) is a landscape that reflects his role as the founder of a modern Armenian national school of painting, heavily influenced by his travels to Armenia and the Middle East (Source 4). The work belongs to the landscape genre, which depicts natural scenery such as mountains and wide views arranged into a coherent composition, often including the sky and weather as compositional elements (Source 3). While the specific visual details of this 1923 painting are not explicitly described in the provided sources, Sarian’s general practice involved using oil paint to express the vitality of nature rather than merely producing a deceptive illusion (Source 5). His approach likely balances topographical accuracy with the emotional expression characteristic of his admiration for nature, rooted in his childhood experiences in rural settlements (Source 4).
estimated time
20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions
materials
6 items
steps
5 in sequence
materials
| item | purpose | modern equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Oil paints (pigment + drying oil) | Primary medium for the artwork | — |
| Linseed oil | General purpose drying oil for mixing paint; provides strong paint film | — |
| Safflower, walnut, or poppyseed oil | Mixing medium for lighter colors (like whites) to prevent yellowing, though they dry slower | — |
| Canvas or linen support | Surface for oil painting; linen comes from the flax plant, same as linseed oil | — |
| Siccative (e.g., litharge historically, or modern alternatives) | To accelerate drying time of the oil paint | Modern non-toxic siccatives |
| Varnish | Used in glazing and scumbling techniques to manipulate transparency and tone | — |
preparation
surface prep
The support is likely linen or canvas, prepared with a ground suitable for oil painting. While specific priming methods for this 1923 work are not detailed in the sources, standard oil painting practice involves preparing the surface to accept the oil medium. Sarian’s work is noted for its vitality, suggesting a surface that allows for expressive brushwork rather than an overly smooth, deceptive finish (Source 5).
underdrawing
Contour drawing techniques may have been used to establish the mass and volume of the landscape elements, such as the mountain and city structures, focusing on outlined shapes rather than minor details (Source 7). However, specific evidence of Sarian’s underdrawing for this piece is not provided; thus, this is inferred from general landscape painting practices where contour helps convey three-dimensional perspective and distance (Source 7).
underpainting
A grisaille (monochrome underpainting) may have been employed, where red and yellow tones are mentally extracted to establish the underlying structure. This method allows for subsequent glazing and scumbling to add color, a technique practiced by old masters and referenced in oil painting traditions (Source 2). This approach helps in managing the complex color contrasts inherent in landscape painting (Source 6).
color palette
White
Lead white (historically) or Titanium Zinc (modern)
General use; historically valued for opacity and fast drying, but modern equivalents are preferred due to toxicity concerns (Source 1)
Ultramarine
Ultramarine pigment
Likely used for sky and distant mountain tones, consistent with traditional oil painting palettes (Source 2)
Black
Carbon black or Ivory black
Establishing shadows and contrast in the grisaille stage (Source 2)
Red and Yellow tones
Various red and yellow pigments
Glazing and scumbling over the monochrome underpainting to introduce warmth and local color (Source 2)
composition
The composition likely features a wide view of natural scenery, including Mount Ararat and the city of Yerevan, arranged coherently with the sky as a significant element (Source 3). As a topographical view, it may depict a specific place with buildings, though such views were sometimes considered inferior to fine art landscapes in historical contexts (Source 3). Sarian’s general compositional habits emphasize the emotional idea prompted by the scene, using painted symbols true to nature but not forgetting the medium’s vitality (Source 5).
step by step
underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing
underdrawing
step 01
Sketch the main contours of the landscape, focusing on the mass and volume of the mountain and city structures rather than fine details.
Tip — Use lighter lines for distant elements to suggest depth and darker lines for foreground objects (Source 7).
Contour drawing
underpainting
step 02
Apply a grisaille underpainting using black, ultramarine, and white to establish the tonal structure, mentally extracting red and yellow colors.
Tip — Ensure the underpainting is completely dry before proceeding to avoid muddying the colors (Source 2).
Grisaille
first pass
step 03
Begin glazing and scumbling with oil paint, introducing red and yellow tones over the monochrome base.
Tip — Glazing adds transparent color, while scumbling adds semi-opaque layers that allow the underpainting to show through, creating coldness or grey blooms if used over darker grounds (Source 2).
Glazing and Scumbling
refining
step 04
Adjust color contrasts and tones, ensuring that juxtaposed colors enhance each other through simultaneous contrast.
Tip — Be aware that placing two flat tints of different tones next to each other will enfeeble the higher tone and heighten the lower tone, creating a true gradation of light (Source 6).
Simultaneous Contrast
finishing
step 05
Finalize the painting by ensuring the emotional expression of the landscape is clear, avoiding a mere deceptive illusion of nature.
Tip — Remember that art is an expression of feeling associated with the material, not just a substitute for nature (Source 5).
Expressive Realism
critical techniques
Glazing and Scumbling
Used to add color and depth over a monochrome underpainting, allowing for subtle tonal variations and transparency effects.
Simultaneous Contrast
Applied to enhance the visual impact of juxtaposed colors, ensuring that the interaction between tones creates a harmonious and dynamic composition.
Contour Drawing
Used in the initial sketching phase to establish the form and volume of the landscape elements without getting bogged down in details.
common pitfalls
- →Attempting to create a deceptive illusion of nature rather than expressing the emotional idea through the vitality of the medium (Source 5).
- →Applying glazes or scumbles before the underpainting is completely dry, which can lead to muddied colors and poor adhesion (Source 2).
- →Ignoring the effects of simultaneous contrast, which can result in flat or unharmonious color relationships (Source 6).
- →Using linseed oil for white pigments, which may cause yellowing over time; lighter oils like safflower or poppyseed are preferred for whites (Source 1).
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 the 1923 painting 'View of Ararat from Yerevan' are not described in the sources, so the guide relies on general landscape painting practices and Sarian’s broader artistic habits.
- ·The exact palette used by Sarian for this specific work is not documented in the provided sources; the palette list is inferred from general oil painting practices and historical context.
- ·Sarian’s specific preparatory methods for this painting (e.g., whether he used a grisaille) are not explicitly stated, so the guide suggests it as a likely technique based on traditional oil painting methods.
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/scumbling techniques
The Practice and Science of Drawing↗
- XX MATERIALS — applied to Philosophy of using oil paint to express vitality rather than illusion
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 6. Put beside each other two flat tints... — applied to Color contrast and refinement steps
cross-referenced from
Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.
Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- part 4 — applied to Materials list, specifically the use of drying oils and pigments
Wikipedia: Landscape painting↗
- part 1 — applied to Composition notes and genre definition
Wikipedia bio — Martiros Sarian↗
- part 1 — applied to Artist’s background and influence on the artwork
Wikipedia: Contour drawing↗
- part 1 — applied to Underdrawing technique
Read more about the corpus on the sources page and how the guides are built on the methods page.
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