Joseph Sarkissian Artwork

Pastel and charcoal on paper. 2021
From the Artaxiat series.
“It is reported that Hannibal, the famous Carthaginian, after the defeat of Antiochus under the Romans, coming to Artaxas, king of Armenia, instructed him in several necessary and useful things; who being taken with the pleasant and delightful situation of that place, then uncultivated and neglected, drew a model of a city for the same; and bringing Artaxes thither, showed him the same, and encouraged him to build; at which the king being pleased, and desiring him to oversee the work, erected a large and stately city called after his own name, and made it Metropoli of Armenia. (Plutarch's Life of Lucullus' XXXI.5)

Pencil on paper, 2021
The name Erato derives from one of the nine Muses in Greek mythology. Her name means “lovely” or “desirable”. Erato was the great granddaughter of Tigranes the Great, and the granddaughter of Artavasdes II. The latter was treacherously arrested by Mark Antony and taken along with his wife and son, Tigranes III, to Alexandria in 34 BC. In 31 BC, they were executed by Cleopatra VII, who soon after committed suicide along with her lover, Mark Antony, as Octavian defeated Mark Antony and occupied Alexandria. Tigranes III was a young man in his late teens and was rescued and spared. Along with all the other children of Cleopatra, Tigranes III was taken to Rome and handed over to foster care. He lived in Rome for 10 years, from 30 BC to 20 BC. While in Rome, he received an excellent education, married twice, and had one child from each wife. Tigranes IV, and Erato.
Their father, Tigranes III was soon installed king of Armenia, from 20 to 10 BC. The kids accompanied their father, who ruled Armenia in relative peace for 10 years. When he died in 10 BC, his son and daughter, the Armenian nobility declared Tigranes IV and Erato co-rulers. Erato was a half-sister to Tigranes IV and to preserve the bloodline, she became his consort, not a queen in the true sense. Some of their coins had the inscription Έρατω βασιλέως Τιγράνου άδελφή (Erato the sister of king Tigran)

pastel and charcoal on paper, 2021
Inspired by his image on his famous tetradrachm silver coins. He ruled Armenia from 10 BC to 1 AD. He was the last male ruler of the Artaxiat dynasty.

From the Artaxiat series. Pastel an charcoal on paper, 2021
In 83 BC Tigran the Great conquered Antioch after many local nobles, fed up with the incessantly feuding Seleucid kings, invited him to rule over the city. He thus conquered the whole of Syria and put an end to the 200-year Seleucid dynasty. Being a city of half a million inhabitants, and boasting a highly advanced Hellenistic based culture, including a wide array of artisans and coin engravers, it is in the Antioch mint that he minted his famous silver tetradrachms, coveted by almost any coin collector today. On the reverse of his coin he pioneered the unique design of Tyche seated on a rock and the River god Orontes swimming at her feet. Many Roman future emperors copied and used his design on their own Antioch coins. We will never know if he actually visited the mint to supervise the production and design of his coins, including the beautiful Tiara on his spectacular portrait, But I certainly imagine that some semblance of this scene on my artwork must have actually happened

From the "Pantheon of the Armenian gods" series. Pastel and charcoal on paper, 2021
Nane (Armenian: Նանէ) was an Armenian pagan mother goddess. She was the goddess of war, wisdom, and motherhood, and the daughter of the supreme god Aramazd. Nane is depicted as a beautiful woman clad as a warrior, with spear and shield in hand, like the Greek Athena. Her temple was at T’il, near ancient Erez or modern Erzincan.
The cult of Nane seems to be intertwined with the cult of mother goddess Anahit. Nane was also revered as the Great Mother (in Armenian, the name “Nane” acquired the meaning of “mother” or “grandmother” and the name Nane continues to be used as a personal name). The name Nane also turned into “nanna” (“aunt”) in Greek, “nonna” in medieval Latin, and “nanny” in English and Russian.

From the Artaxiat series. Pastel and charcoal on paper, 2021
The first military confrontation between Rome and Armenia on 6 October 69 BC.
Here I wanted to portray the majesty of the King of Kings on his horse, and his whole military entourage, with an emphasis not only on the King and his Tiara but also on the graceful horses of the famous Armenian cavalry of the period.