The Aslamazyan Sisters

Mariam and Eranuhi were born in 1907 and 1910 respectively in Bash-Shirak, a village in the Armenian-populated Kars province of the Russian Empire. The province was handed over to Turkey in 1918 after World War I and the Aslamazyan family, like much of the population of the Kars province, migrated to the city of Alexandropol (modern-day Gyumri) and its nearby villages. ​The Aslamazyans formed a “fairy tale family,” as Mariam called it, with seven sisters and one brother. The children were raised by wealthy parents striving for modernity. Their father, Arshak, mastered the craft of building flour mills, importing new technologies from Germany to Armenia. Their mother, Varduhi, portrayed in an array of the sisters’ canvases, was a fervent supporter of their education and social emancipation. ​

PROLIFIC CAREERS

In the late 1930s, the sisters began to participate in many exhibitions within the USSR republics and abroad. One such was the Soviet Woman in the Arts exhibition organized in Paris in 1948. ​

​Their prolific careers spanned more than 50 years, during which time they travelled to, and exhibited in, dozens of countries in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Caucasus and the Middle East. They were laureates of many awards and received medals for their art, for their work as public figures, and as cultural ambassadors actively contributing to better diplomatic relations between the USSR and other countries.​

​In addition to their painting work, the sisters collaborated with several Russian theatres on stage and costume designs, created graphic works and illustrations for literary publications, and worked as costume designers on an Armenian film production.

THE SISTERS' MUSEUM IN GYUMRI'S HISTORIC DISTRICT

The sisters established their personal gallery in 1987 in their native Gyumri and donated more than 600 of their original paintings, ceramics and graphic works. The Gallery of Mariam and Eranuhi Aslamazyan Sisters holds the largest collection of the sisters’ works of any museum in the world. It is the only museum named after female artists – and devoted to female artists – in Armenia.

The two-storey house was built in 1880 by wealthy merchants, the famous Keshishov family from Gyumri, as their private house. It is a striking example of 19th-century urban architecture, with its typical tuff structure, a luxurious inner courtyard and wooden balcony. Due to its iconic architecture, the building was included in the Kumayri Museum-Reserve in 1980 on the list of state-owned historical and cultural heritage sites.

ODE TO WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT

As two liberated female artists, the Aslamazyan sisters continually depicted women in their oeuvre in their own distinctive styles, raising issues related to female identity, status and the moral codes of a traditional patriarchal society. At the core of their visual narratives was a thrust to represent the diversity of female subjects. They constantly challenged the stereotypes of women as passive members of society, endowing their female figures with agency and determination. ​

The Aslamazyan sisters settled in Moscow in 1943 but paid regular visits back home to their native Armenia. As the first generation of Soviet-Armenian artists, their career covers the entire history of the USSR (1922-1991). ​

The sisters’ art evolved within and beyond the officially-sanctioned socialist-realist style. Socialist realism aimed at propagandizing communist ideology and the Soviet state through highly optimistic and idealized representations of Soviet life, its political leaders and the proletariat.

Following the Five-Year Plan launched in 1928 by Joseph Stalin, the Soviet republics saw the development of heavy industry, the collectivization of agriculture into cooperative state farms called kolkhoz, and the elimination of all ‘bourgeois’ elements of society.

THE MEDIUM OF EDUCATION

As both sisters had received and completed an advanced education, they were especially aware of the importance of showcasing women in pursuit of higher education. The sisters created a series of portraits of students in Armenia as well as those in countries they had visited on their many international trips, such as India. These portraits of students – always accompanied with one or a series of textbooks – are significant as they are both empowering and beautiful. The portraits also highlight the increasing importance of higher education in the world and its impact on modern societies.​

CULTURAL AMBASSADORS OF THE SOVIET UNION

Mariam and Eranuhi spent most of their lives in Russia and Armenia and were among those privileged artists sent on diplomatic missions abroad to promote the Soviet Union. Through their overseas journeys, the sisters exhibited their art and created travel series depicting an array of thematic subjects, from landscapes of foreign lands to striking portraits of contemporary life. Each of them detail the folk and ethnographic aspects of national culture and the diversity of women's social status and professional pursuits.​ ​ ​ ​

MEMORY KEEPERS

Born into a family of seven children in the Armenian village of Bash-Shirak, Mariam and Eranuhi’s childhood images were imprinted on their memories. They portrayed a series of thematic portraits, landscapes and still life from Armenia which were dedicated to the traditional lifestyle and the importance of oral traditions and collective memory, often effected by women in the family. These works record both the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the past and highlight the multifaceted role of women in contemporary society. ​

A TRIBUTE TO MOTHERHOOD

Varduhi Aslamazyan fervently supported her daughters in their careers and artistic endeavours, and she was an important and strong figure to both Mariam and Eranuhi. Both of the sisters portrayed their beloved mother in their artworks several times throughout their lives. In the 1965 Mother’s Portrait, Mariam depicted her mother in a serene and meditative position. On the wall behind her, Mariam has included one of her own paintings of women in a harvesting scene signifying her mother’s support of her daughters’ work. Letters received from the children are seen next to her, suggesting frequent communication between them, and an enduring closeness.

CERAMIC PRACTICE

The Aslamazyan sisters were also accomplished ceramicists. Starting in the 1950s, the sisters began working more regularly with glazed ceramics and produced a number of decorative pottery pieces which were often depicted in their paintings. The decorative forms on Mariam's ceramics tended to be images of harvested fruits, almost like three dimensional still lifes. She also painted portraits of fellow Armenians and the diverse individuals she met during her international trips. Eranuhi's style was more intimate and sensual.

Mariam created a series of plates illustrated with pomegranates. The symbolism and iconography of pomegranates dates back to ancient times and they are still the most recognizable symbol of Armenia today. Representing fertility, abundance, and prosperity, pomegranates were worshiped as the fruit of the tree of life. During the medieval period, pomegranates were widey used in Armenian architectural ornamentation, illuminated manuscripts, and on stone carvings. Mariam's pomegranate plates are an embodiment of womanhood, conveying both the mythological qualities and the formal aspects of the fruits through their shape and colour.​

MUSINGS ON TIME

The focus on women as subjects and creators is undoubtedly one of the most significant characteristics of the rich body of work the sisters produced. They shed light on the maternal and caring aspects of women, but also on their intellectual and creative endeavours, their contributions to social change and to the modernization of societies. The sisters also chose subjects and depicted details that highlight women's femininity and sensuality through the pose of the sitters, rich adornments and costumes, and the striking gaze.​

​Throughout their careers, both sisters produced numerous self-portraits, sometimes alone, sometimes with the other, or through different ages. These remarkable works celebrate their independence and differences whilst documenting the passage of time, the process of empowerment, the challenges they encountered and their achievements – over almost a century of outstanding artistic achievements.​