Dournovo Lydia A. Armenian miniatures

Harry N. Abrams, 1961. — 196 p.Adistinctly exotic flavor marks these
works, which arc completely unfamiliar
to most art historians and specialists.
Even those who have had some
acquaintance with Armenian miniatures
and illuminations will find that most of
the material in this book has never before
been reproduced. Thus we have what is
in effect a real 'find,' a new artistic experience.
Here is a survey of over 1000 years of
this art, from the collections of the Matenadaran,
the library at Yerevan, in the
Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. From
the beginnings in the 6th or 7th century,
a.d., through the 17th century, we may
here sample the different aspects of a fascinating
art form, the styles of the various
schools, and their modifications through
the centuries. Many influences left an imprint
on this art, but there are original
contributions iconographically and stylistically,
and the author shows us how
widespread, in the Levantine sphere, was
the activity of the Armenian miniature
painters—in Persia, Crimea, Syria,
throughout Asia Minor, and in Constantinople
itself
To be noted in these works arc the
masterful technique, the astonishing richness
of ornamentation, the wide variety
and the mixture of traditional and original
Christian motifs, the extraordinary
color—sometimes delicately nuanced and
sometimes of enamel-like brilliance
against gold backgrounds—and the surcness
of the drawing. These pages, so exquisitely
reproduced in this book, charm
us with their fantasy and invention.
The author, the outstanding authority
on this subject, is the curator of the museum
at Yerevan. An artist herself, she also
directs a school for training m the copying
and preservation of ancient Armenian
frescoes and miniatures. A lively preface
is bv Miss Der Nersessian, professor of
art and archaeology at Dumbarton Oaks,
Washington, D.C., and member of the
faculty of Harvard University.