Harutyun Kalents
Encyclopedia
Harutyun Kalents was a prolific Armenian
painter, born on March 27, 1910 in the town of Kyurin
, present day Turkey
.
) on March 27 of 1910. His father Tiratur owned a wool-dying factory which left a profound impression on young Kalents with its vats of bright colors. In 1915, during the Armenian genocide, Kalents’ father was taken away by Turkish soldiers, never to be seen again. Kalents along with his three brothers and mother escaped to Aleppo
, Syria
. A few days after their arduous trek into Aleppo, Kalents’ mother died of starvation and fatigue. Kalents and his three brothers spent their childhood and youth in an Aleppo orphanage. Despite the hardships of life in the orphanage, Kalents began cultivating his passion for arts in part by encouragement from one of the orphanage sisters. He often escaped the orphanage to roam around the Aleppo markets and paint.
In 1922, at the age of 12, Kalents left the orphanage to become an apprentice to a lithographer and later received his primary artistic education from Onik Avetisyan in Aleppo. He then followed his brothers to Tripoli, Lebanon where they had opened a photo studio. Kalents painted backgrounds to be used in the photo sessions. From 1929-1933, French painter Claude Michulet was his teacher in Beirut Academy of Fine Arts, where he then taught painting until 1939.
Kalents was awarded the Medal of Merit by the presidium of International Exhibitions in New York in 1939, and the honorary prize by the government of Lebanon for his bas-reliefs in the Pavilion of Lebanon presented at the New York International exhibition.
In 1938 he took into apprenticeship a young woman by the name of Armine Paronyan (Kalents), whom he later married on May 2, 1943. Armine became a prominent Armenian painter alongside her husband.
Kalents and family expatriated to Yerevan, Armenia in June 1946. The next year he participated in a group show organized to exhibit the works of newly expatriated painters. He participated in group exhibitions organized by the Artists Union, of which he was a member since 1947. He held several solo shows both in Yerevan and in Moscow and was posthumously awarded Armenian Republic’s (SSR) State Prize in 1967.
Kalents’ house in Yerevan is now a museum. His paintings are also in the collections of National Museum of Armenia (Yerevan), Republic of Armenia’s Cultural Ministry as well as private collections in Moscow, St. Petesburg, Tbilisi, New York, Paris, Vienna, Beirut, Aleppo, Cambridge, San Francisco, Los Angeles to list a few.
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
painter, born on March 27, 1910 in the town of Kyurin
Gürün
Gürün is a town and a district of Sivas Province of Turkey. The mayor is Mehmet Aktaş .-External links:*...
, present day Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
Biography
Kalents was born in Kyurin, Ottoman Empire (present day TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
) on March 27 of 1910. His father Tiratur owned a wool-dying factory which left a profound impression on young Kalents with its vats of bright colors. In 1915, during the Armenian genocide, Kalents’ father was taken away by Turkish soldiers, never to be seen again. Kalents along with his three brothers and mother escaped to Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. A few days after their arduous trek into Aleppo, Kalents’ mother died of starvation and fatigue. Kalents and his three brothers spent their childhood and youth in an Aleppo orphanage. Despite the hardships of life in the orphanage, Kalents began cultivating his passion for arts in part by encouragement from one of the orphanage sisters. He often escaped the orphanage to roam around the Aleppo markets and paint.
In 1922, at the age of 12, Kalents left the orphanage to become an apprentice to a lithographer and later received his primary artistic education from Onik Avetisyan in Aleppo. He then followed his brothers to Tripoli, Lebanon where they had opened a photo studio. Kalents painted backgrounds to be used in the photo sessions. From 1929-1933, French painter Claude Michulet was his teacher in Beirut Academy of Fine Arts, where he then taught painting until 1939.
Kalents was awarded the Medal of Merit by the presidium of International Exhibitions in New York in 1939, and the honorary prize by the government of Lebanon for his bas-reliefs in the Pavilion of Lebanon presented at the New York International exhibition.
In 1938 he took into apprenticeship a young woman by the name of Armine Paronyan (Kalents), whom he later married on May 2, 1943. Armine became a prominent Armenian painter alongside her husband.
Kalents and family expatriated to Yerevan, Armenia in June 1946. The next year he participated in a group show organized to exhibit the works of newly expatriated painters. He participated in group exhibitions organized by the Artists Union, of which he was a member since 1947. He held several solo shows both in Yerevan and in Moscow and was posthumously awarded Armenian Republic’s (SSR) State Prize in 1967.
Kalents’ house in Yerevan is now a museum. His paintings are also in the collections of National Museum of Armenia (Yerevan), Republic of Armenia’s Cultural Ministry as well as private collections in Moscow, St. Petesburg, Tbilisi, New York, Paris, Vienna, Beirut, Aleppo, Cambridge, San Francisco, Los Angeles to list a few.
External links
- Kalents, Armine . Forgive Me Haroutyun. Nairi 1997
- Harutyun Galents in GATEWAY TO ARMENIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE
- THE PAINTERS OF SORROW
- HAROUTIUN GALENTZ in THE PIONEERS OF THE DIASPORA ART
- ART HISTORY AND ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
- BRIEF OVERVIEW OF ARMENIAN ART PIONEERS: PERIODS AND MOVEMENTS
- Armenia: Arts in Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Republic of Armenia Official Site