As part of the National Library Week program, a public lecture and book exhibition titled “The Bibliography of Vardges Surenyants” took place today in the Tamanyan Circular Hall of the National Library of Armenia. The speaker was Haykuhi Sahakyan, Head of the Armenian Painting Department at the National Gallery of Armenia.

Vardges Surenyants is one of the prominent figures of the New Era in Armenian visual arts. “Educated at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, the artist was proficient in several foreign languages and engaged in translating literary works and scholarly studies by European authors. He was consistently one of the most active figures in the artistic life of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Yerevan, and Tbilisi, and is rightfully considered the founder of the modern style in the historical genre and national book art within Armenian visual arts,” she noted.

Surenyants’ closest friend among Armenian intellectuals was Alexander Tsaturyan. From the numerous letters addressed to him, it is evident that during his final days he communicated only with Alexander. He depicted Tsaturyan seated on Pegasus.

Surenyants met with Hovhannes Tumanyan numerous times, supported the activities of the Armenian theatrical society in Tbilisi, and provided them with his translations of Shakespeare’s plays. According to Tumanyan’s children, when Tumanyan was released from prison in 1912, Surenyants painted his portrait.

Vardges Surenyants had a close relationship with Ivan Aivazovsky, who often encouraged him. Surenyants had numerous meetings and conversations with the marine painter, as he himself mentioned in his congratulatory speech at the opening assembly of the “Union of Armenian Artists.” After Ivan Aivazovsky’s death, Surenyants created his bust.

Haykuhi Sahakyan also spoke about Surenyants’ illustrated manuscripts (ex libris), as well as his book and press designs. At the conclusion of the event, she presented the National Library with the publication Arshak Fetvatsyan: Architectural Relics Saved from Cultural Genocide, issued by the National Gallery of Armenia in 2015.