Mother's Portrait

Martiros Sarian The portrait was executed by Sarian during his student years. The painter’s palette corresponds to the portraiture established canons.
Although Sarian has not yet undertaken new pictorial tasks, the image projected by him suggests his tender and filial love for his mother – Ustiane. “My mother worked very hard. All day she was busy around the house: carried on the yoke pails with water from the well, fired a furnace, baked tasty bread and puffs, cooked dinner, milked, churned and made cheese.
She was in time for everything and was an expert in her field. When holding a child in her left hand, she could at the same time knead dough with her right hand.
Everything cooked and baked by our beauty, our kind and tireless mother was extremely tasty… She was brought up as a Christian and used to pray for people’s well-being, asking Lord to forgive her (the holy one) for the sins she had not committed.
She had scarcely had a minute’s rest and then she would read aloud her prayer-book in splendid old Armenian language.’