Martiros Saryan (1880 -1972) is one of the greatest painters of the 20th century, an outstanding colorist. 'Color is a genuine miracle', the painter exclaimed. 'In combination with sunlight, it expresses the spirit of object's shape and the essence of universal existence'. Saryan's paintings, created in bright, saturated colors represent a new aesthetic perception enable us to understand that art is not only an imitation of reality but, it is the use of free imagination and abstraction. At the same time, Saryan adheres simple natural shapes in his paintings, always believing nature to be his main mentor.

In the beginning of the 1910's, Saryan was a bold innovator, who brilliantly united artistic traditions of the East with the new achievements of the twentieth century European painting. The artist was recognized in Russia, where some of his paintings were bought by the famous Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, others were exhibited in Europe. In 1921, Saryan settled in Armenia, to participate in its spiritual rebirth. The ideology of the Soviet country in which he resided created certain difficulties for his free creative evolution. But the artist remained loyal to the principles of his own style. The earlier elaborated technical methods and ways of expression were enriched with new content. As a founder of the modern Armenian school of painting, Saryan asserted in his art the timeless and humanistic values of high art.