Illustration for the fable 'The Crow and the Fox' 1934

Martiros Sarian made this illustration for the fable 'The Crow and the Fox' using ink, maybe in the 1930s. Look at the hypnotic rhythm of the marks. Each leaf, each tuft of fur, is built up with a patient, repetitive gesture, like the patient telling of a folk story. There’s something so deliberate in the way Sarian coaxes texture from a single color. The paper peeks through, creating a stark contrast that animates the scene. See how the fox’s fur is suggested by the absence of ink, giving it a kind of luminous presence against the darker lines that define its form. It’s like the negative space is just as important as the drawn line. You can see a dialogue with Matisse in the economy of line and the way he suggests depth and form through pattern. Both artists knew that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, creating worlds with just a few marks, inviting us to fill in the gaps with our own imaginations.