Ara Harutyunyan (; March 28, 1928 – February 28, 1999) was an Armenian monumental sculptor, graphic artist, People's Artist of Armenia, corresponding member of Academy of Fine Arts of USSR and Russian Academy of Arts, professor.
He is the creator of monumental statue Mother Armenia installed on the heights of Yerevan, which became one of the most popular symbols of Armenia. Harutyunyan revived the traditions of the medieval Armenian architectural and sculptural complex and created his own vivid style of decorative narrative relief art. Among them are such iconic work as the Erebuni Museum, the sculptural complex of the G. Sundukyan State Academic Theatre, the Sardarapat Memorial Complex and the Musa Ler monument, the reliefs of the Yerevan Vine Plant.
The sculptor's artistic legacy is large, and its significance is outstanding. His work is notable by the variety of genres and compositions used, by its versatility and magnitude. Harutyunyan created more than 40 monumental and monumental-decorative works, sculptural complex in Armenia, Russia, France, Italy, Philippines and other countries, as well as reliefs, gravestones, easel sculptures, dozens of drawings and graphic works.
The art scholar A. Kamensky said: "Harutyunyan strongly influenced today's Yerevan. He created its central vertical, the grand "Mother Armenia" monumental statue. The bas-reliefs and decorative sculptures done by the master decorate the entrance of the G. Sundukyan Theatre, the Erebuni Museum, the Journalists' House and other buildings. Their architectural and sculptural composition in many ways determines the artistic and plastic expressivity of the modern Yerevan, the language of its symbols and historical associations".
Childhood
Ara Harutyunyan was born on March 28, 1928, in Yerevan. His father was a musician who worked for the Armenian Philharmonics and the A. Spendiaryan opera and ballet Theatre, the artistic director and conductor of which was K. Saradjev. From his early childhood A. Harutyunyan demonstrated an outstanding talent for the arts and a serious interest in sculpture. As a child, he loved theatre and pictorial art, especially the works of M. Vrubel. Once, when he was still a boy, he found a piece of tuff and, using whatever tools he could find, hewed out a woman's head that looked like Armenian goddess Anahit. This work received praise from the artist Taragros, who was very knowledgeable in all that concerned Armenian ornaments and miniatures.
After finishing seventh grade (1943), Harutyunyan entered the Yerevan Art College after F. Terlemezyan. He was a student at the workshop of G. Aharonyan, who introduced his students to the history of the European culture, expanding their knowledge and forming their tastes.
In 1948 two of Harutyunyan's student works were exhibited in the foyer of the Spendiaryan Theatre in Yerevan. In 1952 Harutyunyan received the prize of Ministry of Culture of the Armenian SSR for the project of the monument to Anani Shirakatsi.
Mastering creativity
After graduating from the Art College, Harutyunyan entered the Yerevan Art and Theatre Institute and graduated from it with distinction in 1954. The sculptor's graduate work was the bronze statue of Komitas that won the competition and was installed on the composer's grave (Yerevan. Komitas Pantheon). As the art scholar A. Kamensky put it, "... this way, a great national honour was bestowed on Arutyunyan."
His early works included the bust monuments to V. Belinsky (1957), writer A. Shirvanzade (1958), gravestones for the People's Artist of the Armenian SSR A. Voskanyan (1958), artist E. Tatevosyan (1961), physician S. Sogomonyan (1962). A milestone for this period is the portrait of Ida Kar (1957), the famous English photographer of Armenian origin.
The Lioness (1958), installed by the road to the medieval monastery of Geghard, was one of the first decorative sculptures in Soviet Armenia.
Adulthood
Since the 1960s, Harutyunyan entered a new and amazingly productive stage in his monumental sculpture work. During this period he created the first sculptural complex in the Soviet Armenia. Thanks to Harutyunyan, Armenia got its first narrative reliefs related to the architecture of the buildings. The art scholar S. Orlov, associate member of the Russian Academy of Arts, wrote: "Harutyunyan transformed the traditions of the ancient oriental monumental sculpture in an artistic and individual way. He created his own vivid and original style".