Categories: Culture

Yervand Kochar’s Illustrations from “Daredevils of Sassoun” – 1939

The beautiful illustrations presented below were created by Armenian sculptor and artist Yervand Kochar for “Daredevils of Sassoun”, the Armenian national epic, in 1939. While the last image is not from the epic, it is executed in the same style and further demonstrates the brilliant craftsmanship of Kochar.

A prominent sculptor of the 20th century, Yervand Kochar gained fame shortly after settling in Paris in 1923: he invented a genre called “Painting in Space”. In 1936, Kochar repatriated to Soviet Armenia assured that he was leaving Paris for good, even though he was at the peak of his artistic fame.

Among his works are the statues of David of Sassoun (1959), a symbol of Yerevan; of Komitas (1969) in Etchmiadzin; and of Vardan Mamikonian (1975). In 1999, UNESCO marked the centennial of Kochar as one of the “outstanding dates” in worldwide art. In 2010, to mark the 110th anniversary since Kochar’s birth, Armenia’s Union of Artists opened an exhibit dedicated to the artist’s legacy.

by peopleOfAr.com

David and the Tax Collectors
David as a Shepherd
David with Kurkik Jalali
Elder Mher wrestling with a lion
Mher Junior
The Naming of the Fortress

Ervand Kochar Museum

Vigen Avetisyan

Recent Posts

The Priestess of the Kingdom of Van: A 9th-Century BC Bronze Figurine in the British Museum

Five angles of one small bronze figure — and what emerges is not an abstract…

5 days ago

The Winged Sun and the Armenian Tiara: Royal Symbolism of the Orontid (Yervanduni) Kingdom of Commagene, 163 BC – 72 AD

Introduction Among the successor states that emerged from the fragmentation of the Achaemenid-derived Orontid (Armenian:…

6 days ago

A Bronze Age Vessel from Gardman: Solar Symbolism, the Sun-Cross, and the Sacred Landscape of Ancient Armenia

Article based on the explanations and interpretive observations of Angela Terian, with additional archaeological and…

1 week ago

Rewriting the Caucasus: A Documented Look at Azerbaijan’s Historical Revisionism Regarding Armenia

Lenin: Soviet nationalities policy, Azerbaijan SSR founded 1920, Stalin: Constitution and census fix the ethnonym…

2 weeks ago

A Painted Wall from Ancient Armenia: The New Erebuni Fresco and the Urartian-Armenian Continuity

An unprecedented find on Arin Berd hill On 23 July 2026, the French Embassy in…

2 weeks ago

The Date Khorenatsi Gave for Armenia’s Founding — Now Backed by Genetics

For more than fifteen centuries, one line from Movses Khorenatsi's History of the Armenians has…

2 weeks ago