Ararat 1958

Martiros Sarian made this painting, Ararat, most likely in oil on canvas, and the colour is doing a lot of the work. It's a real lesson in how a limited palette can create such a strong sense of place. Look at how he builds the mountain with these cool blues and purples, almost like he's sculpting the form with colour. And then the way he contrasts that with the warm yellows and greens in the foreground – it creates this amazing push and pull. There's a real physicality to the paint, too, especially in the foreground, where you can see the brushstrokes building up the texture of the land. See how the strokes in the sky are horizontal, like the mountain. Then down below, the strokes are going every which way. It reminds me a little bit of Cezanne, the way he's breaking down the landscape into these geometric shapes, but with a softer, more lyrical touch. It’s a reminder that art is about feeling and seeing, not just knowing, and there’s always room for more than one answer.