People

Jean Jansem, French-Armenian painter

Jean Jansem was a French-Armenian painter. Known for his washy representational paintings of nude women, still lifes, and figures, Jansem painted with a variety of media that included gouache, watercolor, ink, and oil in a stylized and textural aesthetic.

Born on March 9, 1920, in Bursa, Turkey, he fled his home country and Greece in his early childhood, eventually settling in Paris, where he began to paint.

Bolstered by study at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in the 1930s, his early work was concerned with his shifting national identity and uniquely global outlook.

Jansem’s work received critical attention throughout his career, garnering honors like induction into the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1953, a knighthood by the French Legion of Honour in 2003, and reception of a Medal of Honor from the President of Armenia in 2010. He died in Paris, France on August 27, 2013.

Taken From: Nouné Yeranosian

Vigen Avetisyan

Recent Posts

The Earliest Known Mention of Yerevan in Armenian Epigraphy: The 874 Inscription of Sevanavank

Perched on the rocky peninsula of Lake Sevan, the medieval monastery of Sevanavank preserves one…

1 week ago

The Land of Kajants: Language, Kings, and Gods

Reconsidering the Language and Sacred Heritage of Urartu in Armenian Historical Thought For more than…

2 weeks ago

Hayasa-Azzi: A Powerful Armenian Kingdom of the Armenian Highlands

Among the earliest known states of the Armenian Highlands, few are as historically important as…

4 weeks ago

The Frescoes of Dadivank Monastery and the Misinterpretation of Heritage

The medieval monastery of Dadivank is one of the most important spiritual and artistic centers…

1 month ago

Armenian Orphan Girls in New York (1917): A Forgotten Act of Witness and Relief

In 1917, at the height of global upheaval during World War I, a small but…

1 month ago

The Armenian Genocide: State Crime, Mass Participation, and the Burden of Historical Responsibility

The Armenian Genocide (1915–1921 ...) was not an accident of war, nor a tragic byproduct…

1 month ago