Illustration to 'Armenian folk tales' 1937

Martiros Sarian made this illustration to ‘Armenian Folk Tales’ with ink on paper; it's a world conjured in monochrome. The lack of color allows us to focus on the process, the way the artist made it; like a recipe where the ingredients are simple, but the method is key. Look at the bird’s wing, each feather is carefully drawn, a herringbone pattern that repeats and repeats, a meditative act. This kind of meticulous mark-making gives the picture a tactile quality, even though it's just ink on paper. You can almost feel the texture of those feathers, like they're popping off the page. It's as if Sarian is inviting us to touch, to experience the image not just with our eyes, but with our hands. The subject reminds me of Marc Chagall, another artist rooted in Russian folklore. Both artists use fantastical imagery to explore themes of identity, memory, and cultural heritage. But Sarian's work has a graphic quality, it speaks to something unique.