Haroutiun Galentz

Haroutiun Galentz (Armenian: Հարություն Կալենց; March 27, 1910 in Kyurin - March 7, 1967 in Yerevan), was a prolific Armenian painter.

Biography

Dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Harutyun Kalents' birth: The Portrait of Actress Khmara, National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan.

Galentz was born in Gürün, Ottoman Empire (present day Turkey) on March 27 of 1910. His father Tiratur owned a wool-dying factory which left a profound impression on young Galentz with its vats of bright colors. In 1915, during the Armenian genocide, Galentz’ father was taken away by Turkish soldiers, never to be seen again. Galentz along with his three brothers and mother escaped to Aleppo, Syria. A few days after their arduous trek into Aleppo, Galentz’ mother died of starvation and fatigue. Galentz and his three brothers spent their childhood and youth in an Aleppo orphanage. Despite the hardships of life in the orphanage, Galentz 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, Galentz 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. Galentz 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.

Galentz 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 (Galentz), whom he later married on May 2, 1943. Armine became a prominent Armenian painter alongside her husband.

Galentz 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.

Galentz’ 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

• Galentz, 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