Panos Terlemezyan

Panos Terlemezian (classical Armenian: Փանոս Թէրլէմէզեան, reformed: Փանոս Թերլեմեզյան; 3 March 1865 – 30 April 1941) was an Armenian painter, a People's Artist of Armenian SSR (1935). He was a leader of Van Resistance in 1915.


Panos Terlemezyan is one of the best representatives of the 19-20th c.c. Armenian realistic painting. His
contribution in Armenian fine arts, especially in the development of realism, is immense. Today he is considered a classical painter.
Panos Terlemezyan's life was rich in historic events, creative happenings, and full of social sense. When a student he entered a youth group fighting against sultant government, because of it he had been subjected to the persecution all life long. Terlemezyan singled out for his social and revolutionary activity. His role in liberation movement that had been carried in Western Armenia is also important. It is proved by the fact that in 1915 he had been elected a so-called “member of temporary military government”, having direct participation in Van battles for self-defence.
Panos Terlemezyan was born in Aygestan, located in the vicinity of the city of Van in 1865. His father was a farmer. He received primary education in Van Central college that he graduated with honours and was employed as a teacher. Later, he continued education and majored in fine arts. In 1899-1904 he studied at Acade'mie Julian, a private art school in Paris, where he was a student of French famous and respected artists Jean-Paul Laurens and Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, who were exponent of the academic style.
P. Terlemezyan passed many years in emigration. Living in France, Italym Spain, USA, creating his works in the environment, where various new trends in painting were originating, he remained true to the traditions of realistic paiting that he had chosen once.

At the same time, though the great master in fine art was formed as a realist painter, there are several works of P. Terlemezyan that carry the influence of impressionism.
P. Terlemezyan is a multy-genre painter. Such genres as portrait, still life, genre scene (petit genre) occupy very important place in his work. But the works of landscape painting dominate in his artistic heritage.
The element of Panos Terlemezyan is nature. He told about it: “It is necessary that artist loves nature passionately. If so the beauties of nature enter through his eyes in his soul and excite it that produces the principal character of his work”.

Together with a group of celebrated artists performed his contribution in the creation of the Union of Armenian Artists. Panos Terlemezyan, Vardges Surenyants, Martiros Saryan, Vrtanes Akhikyan, Yegishe Tadevosyan, Garegin Levonyan and others became the direct initiators of the creation and setting up of the Union.

In 1928, after the Sovetization of Armenia, Panos Terlemezyan took up permanent residence in Armenia. The new period in his work started, when the great master created numerous significant and highly artistic paitings. On coming to Armenia Terlemezyan created several remarkable examples of industrial landscape painting, becoming one of the founders of this genre.

The contribution of Panos Terlemezyan in Armenian fine arts is invaluable.
Rating highly and appreciating the art works of Panos Terlemezyan, the arts school established in Yerevan, was named after him.