Art and legacy
Hakob Kojoyan
Hakob Kojoyan is one of the great masters of Armenian fine art, whose work transcends the boundaries of painting to encompass graphic art, book design, historical composition, landscape painting, decorative and applied arts, stage design, and the creation of national symbols. He is considered one of the founders of modern Armenian graphic art, and his work played a pivotal role in shaping the national language of 20th-century Armenian fine art. Kojoyan’s oeuvre harmoniously unites European artistic training, the traditions of Armenian medieval miniature and ornamental art, characters from national epics, the historical memory of Ani, the colorful spirit of the Eastern city, and a lyrical perception of Armenia’s landscapes.
Hakob Karapeti Kojoyan was born on December 13, 1883, in Akhaltsikhe. His father was a jeweler, and this environment profoundly influenced the future artist's development. Kojoyan's childhood was linked to Vladikavkaz, where the family moved in 1889. He studied at the city gymnasium while simultaneously working in his father's workshop, learning jewelry making, engraving, and embossing techniques. This experience later proved significant for his graphic thinking: Kojoyan’s drawings are always characterized by meticulous detail, decorative precision, and refined form.
Kojoyan studied in Moscow at the studio of the engraver Prusov, then in Munich at A. Azbe’s private studio and the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. He lived in Paris from 1907–1909, in Moscow from 1912–1914, and settled in Yerevan in 1922.
An important feature of Kojoyan’s art is that he never limited himself to a single direction. He could create a large-scale historical-epic composition, a delicate book illustration, an Armenian landscape, a scene from an Eastern market, a decorative design, a woodcut, or a sketch for applied arts. In his art, line and color are equally important. While Martiros Saryan often reveals the Armenian world through color and sun, Kojoyan constructs the national image through line, ornamental motifs, compositional density, and historical-symbolic thinking.
Kojoyan’s name is also linked to the history of the Republic of Armenia's state symbols. The coat of arms of the First Republic of Armenia was co-designed by architect Alexander Tamanian and artist Hakob Kojoyan. This demonstrates that Kojoyan’s art held not only museum or aesthetic significance but also served as part of the process of forming statehood, symbolism, and national identity.
Creative Development and Education
Kojoyan’s early creative period is connected to the study of craft, line, and form. The jeweler’s environment taught him care for the material, respect for detail, and ornamental thinking. That is why in his graphics, even the smallest element is not accidental; every line, floral ornament, initial letter, clothing pattern, or architectural detail has structural significance.
The education received in Munich and Paris allowed Kojoyan to become acquainted with the experience of old European masters and new artistic trends. His art reflects the discipline of European drawing, compositional thinking, and graphic clarity. At the same time, he never repeated these mechanically; Kojoyan used his European training to build an Armenian artistic language.
Few works remain from his early period. "Portrait of Dubakh" and the 1907 "Self-Portrait" are noted. These works are important not so much as examples of a fully formed style, but as a transition phase from academic training toward more independent, national, and decorative thinking.
The Theme of Ani and Historical Memory
In 1918, Kojoyan participated in an archaeological expedition led by Nikolay Marr and visited Ani. This visit was decisive for his art. The ruins of Ani, the architectural remains of the medieval capital, its churches, fortress walls, and traces of frescoes became for him not merely archaeological material, but a symbol of Armenia's historical destiny.
"The Ruins of Ani," created in 1919, is one of Kojoyan’s most significant works. It is not a documentary piece; the artist does not merely try to record the appearance of the ruins. He presents the image of Ani as historical memory—a symbol of lost statehood, cultural greatness, and national resilience. The color is restrained, the shapes are clear, and the space is silent and heavy. In his painting, the walls and ruins of Ani turn not into dead stones, but into a testimony of the path the people have traveled.
The theme of Ani returned to Kojoyan’s art throughout various years. He later revisited this theme in painting and graphic art, and in the final period of his life, an unfinished painting of "The Ruins of Ani" remained in his studio. This is very characteristic of Kojoyan: he did not perceive history as a time that had passed, but as a continuing internal theme.
Tabriz and Works of the Eastern Period
In the early 1920s, Kojoyan lived in Tabriz for a time. The impressions of this period were expressed in works on Eastern themes: "Street in Tabriz," "Dining Room in Tabriz," "Children of Tabriz," "Persian Market," "Persian Woman," "Dogs of Tabriz," and others.
In these works, Kojoyan presents the environment of an Eastern city—the street, the market, the movement of people, the daily life, and the density of colors and shapes. However, his Eastern works do not become mere exotic pictures. The artist is interested not just in external picturesqueness, but in the rhythm of the environment. A street or market in Tabriz is, for him, a living composition where human figures, architectural fragments, animals, goods, and decorative details unite in a common movement.
The combination of Kojoyan’s painterly and graphic thinking is evident in works from this period. He does not resolve form through color alone; the linear structure always remains important. The outlines of people, the edges of buildings, the patterns of clothes, and the shapes of objects create a clear, decoratively organized space.
The Yerevan Period and the Construction of National Art