Illustration to 'Armenian folk tales' 1937

Martiros Sarian created this illustration to 'Armenian folk tales', in shades of grey. It must have been a labor of love to complete this kind of tonal work. It’s amazing what you can do with a limited palette. I bet he was thinking a lot about line and shading while making this. I’m thinking about that bird’s eye and whether she is looking at us or at something else entirely? And the person holding onto the bird’s feet, they are giving it their all, or else the bird will fly away. The whole scene kind of reminds me of some of my own pictures, where the background kind of blends in with everything else. This work makes me think about the work of Arthur Dove and Marsden Hartley, who also worked with simplification and abstraction in their paintings. Painters are always in conversation with each other, across time, inspiring each other's creativity. This artwork reminds us of how painting offers us a form of embodied expression. There are so many ways to see it, so many ways to think about it, and so many ways to experience this world!