Eduard Isabekyan was an Armenian painter and founder of thematic compositional genre in Armenia.
Background
Eduard Isabekyan was born on November 8, 1914 in Igdir, Turkey. His father, Amayak, was engaged in farming and trading, and his mother, Satenik, was a housewife. In 1918, the Isabekyan family emigrated and after two months in Etchmiadzin moved to Yerevan for permanent residence.
Education
From 1927 to 1931 Isabekyan attended "Geghard" college where he received his first professional education taught by practicing artists Sedrak Arakelyan, Vahram Gayfedjian (painting), Gohar Fermanyan (graphic). In 1935-1941 he studied in the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, Georgia.
Between 1931 and 1935 Isabekyan worked as the artist for the newspapers "Pioneer Kanch", "Avant-garde", "The Soviet Armenia", and produced the cover pages. Later, in 1943 he served in the army.
He started to teach in Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts in 1945.
From 1967 to 1987 Isabekyan was the director of the National Gallery of Armenia. He opened the National Gallerys’ affiliate Galleries around Armenia (1970 - Echmiadzin, 1972 - Jermuk, 1973 - Hrazdan, 1974 - Vanadzor, 1978 - Gyumri, 1978 - Martuni, 1979 - Eghegnadzor, 1980 - Jajur, 1987 - Alaverdi).
Eduard Issabekian lived and worked in the Armenian village Ashtarak in 2005.
As a multi-genre artist, he created extensive and high value compositional paintings, portraits, landscapes, graphics, thematic compositions, book designs. A number of Isabekyan’s paintings are characterized by organic intercourse of a man and the native nature: "Old Man from Byurakan and the Artavazik Church" (1956), "Aksel Bakunts" (1956), "Derenik Demirtchyan" (1960), "Curly Boy" (1964), "Sayat Nova" (1964). One of the best examples of Armenian portraiture of Soviet period is the "Mother’s portrait" painting (1944). Moreover, Isabekyan is the author of a number of drawings and the series of graphics devoted to painter Arpenik Nalbandyan.
Isabekyan became a member of the Armenian Artists Union in 1941, and in 1954-1956 became the head of its painting department. He was also elected as an honorary chairman of "Igdir" patriotic union for the term of his life.