Yervand Kochar
Yervand Kochar | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 15, 1899 |
| Died | January 22, 1979 (aged 79) |
| Resting place | Komitas Pantheon |
| Nationality | Armenian |
| Other names | Ervand Kochar, Yervand Kocharyan |
| Education | Nersisian School Arts School of the Caucasus Association for Promotion of Fine Arts |
| Known for | Painting, sculpture, drawing, inventing, writing |
| Movement | Futurism, cubism, surrealism, Impressionism, avant-garde |
| Spouse | Vardeni Kochar (m. 1923, d. 1928)
Meline Kochar (m. 1929-1936, d. 1967) Manik Mkrtchyan-Kochar (m. 1944-1979, d. 1984) |
| Children | 2 |
Yervand "Kochar" Kocharyan, also known as Ervand Kochar (Armenian: Երվանդ Սիմոնի "Քոչար" Քոչարյան; 1899 – 1979) was a prominent sculptor and modern artist of the twentieth century and a founder of Painting in Space art movement. The Ervand Kochar Museum is located in Yerevan, Armenia and showcases much of his work.[1][2]
Biography
Kochar was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire on June 15, 1899, to Simon Kocharian of Shushi and Pheocia Martirosian.[3] He graduated in 1918 from the Nersisian School and, between 1915 and 1918, also studied at the Arts School of the Caucasus Association for Promotion of Fine Arts (known as O. Schmerling School) in Tbilisi. From 1918 to 1919, he studied at the State Free Art Studio of Moscow. He returned to Tbilisi, where he was granted a certificate of professor of Fine Arts and Technical Studies by the People's Commissariat of Soviet Georgia.
In 1921–1922, Kochar was elected to the exhibition commission of the Union of Armenian Artists and became a member of the "HAYARTUN" (House of Armenian Art). By April 1922, he left from Batumi and traveled abroad to Constantinople (Istanbul), then to Venice, Rome, Florence, and Paris. Kochar's works were first exhibited in Tbilisi in 1921 and the following year in Allied-controlled Constantinople and in Venice. By 1923, Kochar had settled down in Paris, where his art was well received.
In 1928, there were reported cases of vandalism towards two sculpture-paintings by Kochar in the exhibition at the Salon des Indépendants. Those works were the first heralds of "Painting in Space". Kochar's "Painting in Space" one-man show later opened at the "Van Leer" Gallery. The author of the catalogue was French-Polish art critic Waldemar George. In 1929, the international exhibition, "Panorama de L'art contemporain" ("Panorama of Contemporary Art") organized in the halls of the "BONAPART" Publishers, Kochar presented the works of "Painting in Space". Among the participants of the exhibition were Georges Braque, Marc Chagall, Robert Delaunay, Henri Matisse, Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Maurice Utrillo, Maurice de Vlaminck, and others. Kochar met Léonce Rosenberg, the well-known patron and connoisseur of modern art, who became a fan of Kochar's art. In 1936, while at the peak of his artistic fame, to the surprise of many, Kochar repatriated to Soviet Armenia, without the least bit of doubt that he was leaving Paris for good.[2]
Between 1941 and 1943, Kochar was imprisoned on politically motivated charges.[4] He was eventually freed due to the intervention of his friends from the Nersisian School, Anastas Mikoyan and Karo Halabyan.[5]
Kochar continued working in Yerevan, becoming especially prominent during the Khrushchev Thaw. He was awarded recognition as People's Artist of Armenian SSR in 1965, State Prize of the Armenian SSR in 1967, Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1971, and People's Artist of the Soviet Union in 1976.[2] In 1966, Kochar signed a petition supporting the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Soviet Armenia, alongside Martiros Saryan, Paruyr Sevak, Hamo Sahyan, and other major Armenian cultural figures.[6]
His most recognized works include the statues of David of Sassoun (1959) which has become the symbol of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia; of Vardan Mamikonian (1975); and of Komitas (1969) in Echmiadzin. One of his masterpieces in painting is "Disasters of War".
In 1963, the National Museum of Modern Art Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris acquired one of Kochar's works of "Painting in the Space" (1934).
Death and legacy
Kochar died on January 22, 1979 in Yerevan. In 1984, a museum in his name was dedicated to his art and opened near Yerevan Cascade. In 1999, UNESCO marked Kochar's centennial as one of the "outstanding dates" in world art. In 2010, Armenia's Union of Artists opened an exhibit dedicated to Kochar's artistic legacy marking 110 years since the artist's birth. In 2025, Indian author Dr. Prashant Madanmohan published The God of Deserted Memories, a novel exploring Armenian cultural memory and genocide, which includes reflections on Yervand Kochar’s role in preserving Armenian identity through avant-garde art.[7][8][9]
Personal life
He was married to philologist Manik Mkrtchyan (1913–1984), with whom he had two sons, Haykaz Kochar (1946) and Ruben Kochar (1953).[10]
Filmography
- Tghamardik (1973) (as Yervand Kochar)
References
- ^ "Ervand Kochar Museum | Ervand Kochar museum Yerevan Best museums in Yerevan Official website". kochar.am. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ a b c "Yervand Kochar Museum in Yerevan, Armenia". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
- ^ Marabyan, Astghik (2014). "Kochar: Challenging The Time". issuu. Cafesjian Center for the Arts. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
- ^ Aghasyan, Ararat [in Armenian] (1999). Ерванд Кочар (in Russian). Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences. p. 55.
- ^ Shakarian, Pietro A. (2025). Anastas Mikoyan: An Armenian Reformer in Khrushchev's Kremlin. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0253073556.
- ^ Shakarian 2025, p. 105.
- ^ Madanmohan, Dr Prashant (2025-04-24). The God of Deserted Memories: A Literary and Philosophical Odyssey through Art, Identity, and the Enduring Legacies of France, Armenia, and India. Cognishift.org. ISBN 978-81-986680-1-1.
- ^ cognishift.org (2025-05-21). "First Indo-Armenian-French Art & Literary Confluence Concludes in Chennai with the Launch of Cognishift Excellence Awards Initiative". CogniShift.Org. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ P, Apurva (2025-05-10). "This art exhibition by Mari Poghosyan explores cross-cultural memories and identity". Indulgexpress. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ "This Week In Armenian History: Birth of Yervand Kochar - June 15, 1899". This Week In Armenian History. Armenian National Education Council (ANEC). 2013-06-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.