Portrait of the poet Yeghishe Charents 1923

Martiros Sarian created this portrait of the poet Yeghishe Charents with oil on canvas. The composition strikes you with its bold use of flat planes of colour, sharply defining forms, and simplified shapes. Notice how Sarian juxtaposes the poet's realistic portrayal with the stylized mask-like face in the background. The geometric structuring and the flattening of perspective link Sarian to the broader currents of early modernism and its move away from illusionism. This is heightened by the bright, almost Fauvist palette, in which colour is used expressively rather than representationally. The poet's face is rendered in angular blocks of green and brown, which contrast with the vivid reds and blues of the mask and backdrop. This contrast isn't just aesthetic; it introduces a semiotic tension. The mask, an ancient symbol of theatre and disguise, destabilizes the conventional meaning of portraiture as a direct representation of identity. The mask may suggest the multiple layers of identity and the performative aspects inherent in the act of creating poetry, reflecting the cultural shifts of early 20th century thought.