Contemporary in Armenian/Russian/English
Books printed in Armenia and Soviet Russia include: Gevorg
Emin’s Seven Songs About Armenia is informative if slanted according to
the (then) Party Line. Still useful for putting historical trends into
perspective. Astghik Gevorkian’s translation of The Armenian Alphabet and
Davtak’s Elegy (Soviet Books, Yerevan, 1986) is a beautiful introduction
to the Armenian Alphabet, each letter the first of a stanza in the manuscript.
Art, Architecture
Armenian Khachkars (Editions Erebuni, 1978), has some of
the most beautiful picture of Khachkars we have seen, and covers the development
of stone carving from its pre-Christian era through the 18th century. The
introduction is written in Armenian, Russian and English.
G. Bashinjagian (Sovetsky Khudozhnik Publishers, Moscow, 1986) is a startling introduction to the work of a painter who straddled the impressionistic and expressionist movements in Europe, and who transformed Armenian landscape painting into a national treasure. Martiros Saryan: Paintings, Water Colors, Drawings, Book Illustrations, Theatrical Design (Aurora Art Publishers, Leningrad 1987) is a hefty book printed in Russian, English and French versions, with more than 500 illustrations. It is superb with its reproductions, and an excellent introduction to the artist who--with Isahakian, Charents and Toumanian, was a leading light of 20th century Armenian culture, and (quite appropriately) compared with Van Gogh, Gaugin and Matisse. His paintings can still be seen at the museum of art and his home-museum in Yerevan. You will never see Ararat the same way after looking at his paintings. An Armenian, Russian and English book on the same subject, called Martiros Sarian (Sovietakan Grogh, Yerevan, 1980), is slightly more compact, but equally filled with high quality reproductions of his work.
Architecture
A new catalogue of Armenian Medieval Churches from the Swiss Institute
for Technology, Department of Architecture (ETH, Zurich, 1996) is the newest,
and perhaps the most comprehensive study of the various influences on and
by Armenian Architecture in the 9th-14th centuries. Well researched, with
evocative comments. English, German and Italian.
A solid book on Soviet Armenian Architecture is the Russian/English Architecture of the Soviet Armenia (Stroysdat, Moscow, 1986). It contains good illustrations and photos of the master plans Toumanian made which transformed a Yerevan from a village into a major metropolis. Also included are master plans for regional cities and buildings. Another interesting book is the Russian Arkitektura Sovietskoy Armenie 20th Century (Sovietakan Grogh, Yerevan, 1980), which features pictures of Yerevan before the transformation.
Carpets
Armenian Rugs (Russian/Armenian/English) compiled by the
Armenian Ministry of Light Industry (Hayastan Publishers, Yerevan, 1986),
is now a collector’s item, but copies can still be found at stores and
the Vernisage. It is a good introduction to the varieties of carpets and
kilims one can find in Armenia.
Bibliographies to Lead to Further books
Try The Armenian Genocide: A Comprehensive Bibliography and Library
Resource Guide (Armenian Reference Books, 1992); Ethnic Cuisine: A Complete
Bibliography in the English Language (Armenian reference Books, 1996) and (again)
the Armenian Reference Book’s 1993 The Armenians: A Colossal Bibliographic Guide
to Books Published in English.
