Martiros Sergeevich Saryan

Collection of V.M.Tarasova, Moscow, acquired in 1914
The Arutiunian family collection, Moscow, from the mid-1950s
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Moscow, Exhibition Hall of the USSR Academy of Arts, V chest' 100-letya Sar'yana, 1980, no.285

R.Drampian, Sar'yan, Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1964, p.101 listed under works from 1914 as Tsvetushchie yablonya
Martiros Sar'yan. Zhivopis', akvareli, risunki, illyustratsii, teatral'no-dekoratsionnoe iskusstvo, Leningrad: Aurora, 1987, p.290, no.146 illustrated b/w

The canvas has been laid down on on cardboard, presumably by the artist himself. The canvas edges are slightly uneven. There are frame abrasions along the edges with some associated paint loss. There are pinholes in the corners. There is a small buckle to the canvas at the top edge approximately 12cm from the right edge. The paint surface shows craquelure, in particular to the white areas of the tree on the left and to the sky in the upper left quadrant. Inspection under UV light does not reveal any obvious signs of restoration. Held in wooden frame behind glass. Unexamined out of frame.
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By 1910 Saryan had abandoned his fairy tale-subjects and turned to his surrounding environment for inspiration. His own style had fully matured by this point and it was now that he painted some of his best works. The present picture dating from 1914 was mostly likely painted while the artist was travelling around Armenia. Towards the end of his life, the artist would write about this trip: ‘Travelling across my homeland, I received from nature so many clear answers for questions that had occupied me for a long time; answers that cannot be found in any treatise on aesthetics nor in any museums.’ ('Iz moei zhizni', Martiros Sar'yan, Erivan, 2009). Blossoming Trees is testament to how nature inspired the artist to create some of his most beautiful paintings.