David of Sassoun
40°09′19″N 44°30′34″E / 40.155296°N 44.509418°E / 40.155296; 44.509418
LocationDavid of Sassoun Square, Erebuni District, Yerevan, Armenia[1]
DesignerYervand Kochar
MaterialCopper (sculpture)
Basalt (base)
Heightsculpture: 6.5 m (21 ft)[2]
total: 12.5 m (41 ft)[3]
Weight3.5 tonnes (7,700 lb)[4]
Opening dateDecember 3, 1959
Dedicated toDavid of Sassoun

David of Sassoun (Armenian: «Սասունցի Դավիթ») is a copper equestrian statue depicting David of Sassoun (Sasuntsi Davit) in Yerevan, Armenia. Erected by Yervand Kochar in 1959, it depicts the protagonist of the Armenian national epic Daredevils of Sassoun. It is placed on a rock-like basalt pedestal in the middle of a large square in front of Yerevan's main railway station.

History

Background

The concept of erecting a statue dedicated to David of Sassoun, the epic hero from the national epic Daredevils of Sassoun, originated in the late 1930s, preceding the thousandth-anniversary celebrations of the epic in Soviet Armenia in 1939. Yervand Kochar was selected and he created it gypsum in just 18 days. The authorities erected the statue in the square in front of the Yerevan Railway Station to greet city visitors, the majority of whom came by train at the time. The statue was destroyed in 1941, days after Kochar was arrested for having supposedly praised Adolf Hitler.[5][6]:28

Current statue

In 1957, on the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution, the Yerevan authorities decided to restore the statue. Kochar recreated it, with significant changes from the original, which notably included an old Arab man besides David. The restored (current) statue was inaugurated on December 3, 1959.[7][3] The opening ceremony attracted a large crowd despite the winter weather,[8] including many Armenians hailing from the Sasun region and their descendants, while senior officials from the local Communist Party did not attend.[5] Khachikian, who witnessed its opening, said there was much enthusiasm and jubilation among the crowd.[8] It was erected during a period of an Armenian nationalist resurgence amid the Khrushchev Thaw.[9]

Restoration

In the post-Soviet period the statue deteriorated somewhat and the "cup of patience", at the feet of the horse, was stolen․ It was recovered in 2011.[6]:1 That year, the statue underwent general restoration, which was funded, primarily, by Ruben Vardanyan.[5] The pool around the statue was also restored.[6]:18 However, in 2012 several sculptors said the statue needed further restoration.[10]

Description and symbolism

David is mounted on his legendary horse Kurkik Jalali ("fiery colt") and wields his sword Tur ketsaki ("lightning sword").[11] The sculpture is made of wrought copper.[13][lower-alpha 1] It is 6.5 m (21 ft) tall, 9.3 m (31 ft) long and 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) wide,[2] and weights 3.5 tonnes (7,700 lb).[4] The entire monument, with the base, is 12.5 m (41 ft) tall.[3][4]

The basalt[15][16] base is placed at the center of a round reflecting pool with a diameter of 25 m (82 ft).[3] The base was designed by the architect Mikayel Mazmanian, although Kochar conceived the idea of a pedestal from natural rock.[17] It is meant to reflect the uneven and rocky landscape of the Armenian Highlands, but especially the Sasun region.[17] Nona Stepanian argued that its small pedestal set a new trend in statues in Yerevan, where they no longer dominate over people and streets by their formidable height.[18]

The water and the round shape of the pool, from which the epic hero rises, symbolize the idea of eternity.[19] At the horse's feet Kochar placed a bowl, from which water constantly flows, reflecting the naturalness of the pedestal. The bowl is partially a visualization of the Armenian expression "filling the bowl of patience" (համբերության բաժակը լցվել) and a free interpretation of the epic.[20]

David's face was modelled after Vanoush Khanamirian, who in the 1950s portrayed David in Khandut, a ballet inspired by the epic.[16][21][22] Tigran Simyan described David as menacing and calm, and his head posture as stern and contrasted it with Varaz Samuelian's statue of David in Fresno, California, which is emotional and extroverted.[17] Simyan argues that although David is depicted in a battle scene against Msra Melik ("King of Egypt"), the lack of an enemy in the sculpture leaves an uninitiated viewer open to "choosing" an enemy of the Armenian people. He argues that the sculpture thus functions on a timeless level.[23] Simyan suggests that Kochar's sculpture is independent of the epic.[24] Earl R. Anderson argued that the statue "symbolizes traditional Armenian resistance to world-kingship as evil."[25]

Reception

The statue with the train station.

The statue, which earned him a State Prize of the Armenian SSR in 1967,[26] is widely considered Kochar's best-known and most important work.[30]

It has been widely admired by visitors and often described as a masterpiece.[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3] Artists and scholars have broadly applauded its artistic merit. Lado Gudiashvili found it to be "the best work of contemporary sculpture".[38] Jean Carzou remarked that such a fine equestrian statue had not been created in Europe in 300 years.[39] Leonid Volynsky described it as the "best equestrian statue erected in [the territory of the Soviet Union] in a century, and perhaps even more".[40] Armen Shekoyan opined that it is one of the world's finest equestrian statues.[41][lower-alpha 4]

It has been described as iconic,[44] Armenia's "most famous contemporary monument",[45] an "outstanding landmark" of the country,[46] a symbol of Yerevan,[41][18][47] and the city's finest statue.[48][49]

An American scientific delegation that visited in 1971 found it "remarkably powerful".[50] Rouben Paul Adalian noted that the "dynamic and forceful" statue is "such a compelling work of sculpture that the image became an emblematic portrait" of Soviet Armenia.[51] David Marshall Lang called it a "spirited masterpiece" and a "fitting symbol of Armenia's national renaissance, and her age long defiance of her foes."[35] James R. Russell suggested that it is "perhaps the most widely-recognized emblem of Armenia" along with Mount Ararat.[52] Vartoug Basmadjian wrote that the statue "became, after Mount Ararat, the most powerful and popular symbol of Armenia."[53]

Yakov Khachikian called it an "unparalleled specimen" of Armenian sculpture art, admired its richness in expression, dynamism, and power, and compared favorably to the Bronze Horseman statue of Peter the Great in Saint Petersburg, Russia.[8] Others have called it a "symbol of the Armenian people"[28] and as "particularly consonant with the Armenian spirit".[54] Zori Balayan wrote that it has become a "symbol of the spirit of the [Armenian] people."[34] Ara Baliozian suggested that the "splendid" statue has "acquired archetypal dimension."[55] Aleksandr Dymshits wrote that the statue, along with that of Kochar's Vardan Mamikonian, is "epically grand and at the same time full of drama, movement, impulse, and passion."[36] Soviet travel writer Nikolai Mikhailov admired how it captures impetuousness like nowhere else.[15]

Proposals to relocate

As early as 1998 Armen Shekoyan proposed moving the statue to Republic Square,[41] where the statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin used to stand before it was taken down in 1991.[56][57] Shekoyan argued that it would fit nicely in Yerevan's finest square and would cost less than erecting a new statue. He added that it would be at the center of attention and be seen by the city's visitors, unlike at its current location, which has become an ordinary residential district with the decline in train arrivals. He also claimed that Kochar himself envisaged (in private conservations) the statue at then Lenin's Square.[41] Other proponents have also argued that its current setting no longer fits its original and the statue no longer greets visitors.[49]

When the proposal was made at a 2006 competition, Mkrtich Minasyan, head of Armenia's Union of Architects, called the proposal reasonable, but opined that statue's proportions are small for the square and warned that it may be damaged while moving.[58][59] One proponent, architect Garri Rashidyan, wrote in his 2007 book that it may be the "best solution for replacing Lenin as the central and focal point of the most important square of our republic."[57] Kochar's son, Haykaz, reportedly said that placing the statue in Republic Square was his father's dream.[49] In 2013 Diana Ter-Ghazaryan noted that David of Sassoun would be a safe choice because of the epic hero's fundamentally apolitical nature and his statue at Yerevan's central square would be acceptable to most Armenians, but considered the relocation unlikely.[57]

Cultural depictions

  • The film studio Hayfilm (formerly Armenfilm) uses the statue as its logo.
Stamps and currency
  • It appeared on a 1968 and 1990 Soviet stamps and a 1991 Soviet commemorative coin.
  • The statue appeared on the obverse of 10 Armenian dram banknotes of the first series (1993–1998) and an uncirculated 1994 silver commemorative coin.[60] A 2009 stamp commemorated its 50th anniversary.[61]
  • The Yerevan Metro tokens issued up to 2009 depicted the statue on in side.
Film
  • The statue is featured in the 1987 Soviet Armenian film The Road to Sasuntsi Davit.
Literature
  • In his 1983 essay collection entitled Nor Hayastan, nor Hayer (New Armenia, New Armenians), Antranig Dzarugian writes that Armenian national symbols became real, in concrete and bronze, in Lenin's Armenia, including the statue of David of Sasun.[62]
  • It is mentioned in the poem "Statues of Haig" by Diana Der Hovanessian included in the collection The Circle Dancers (1996).[63]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Some sources incorrectly say bronze.[14]
  2. ↑ Visitors have described it as "beautiful and spirited",[31] "adorns the city",[32] "very fine equestrian statue",[11] "magnificent statue",[33] "brilliantly and ingeniously handled".[34]
  3. ↑ It has been called a masterpiece, among others, by David Marshall Lang,[35] Aleksandr Dymshits,[36] Murad Hasratyan,[37] Lado Gudiashvili,[38] Yakov Khachikian.[8]
  4. ↑ Literaturnaya Armenia, a magazine of the Writers Union of Armenia, wrote in 1977 that it is "considered by many to be the world's best equestrian sculpture of the past century."[42] Gavrill Petrosyan, a Soviet Armenian author, wrote in 1981 that "experts reckon that this is the best equestrian statue of the past 100 years."[43]
Citations
  1. ↑ "Davit of Sasun Square". yerevan.am. Yerevan Municipality. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Kazaryan, Manya (1978). Изобразительное искусство Армянской ССР. Moscow: Sovetskiy khudozhnik. p. 217. Archived from the original on 2023-11-20. Кочар Е., Давид Сасунский. 1959. Медь кованая. 650×930×220, Ереван
  3. 1 2 3 4 Simonian, Abel P. [in Armenian] (1963). Ереван: очерк истории, экономики и культуры города. Yerevan: University of Yerevan Press. p. 237.
  4. 1 2 3 Tigranyan, Sergey (June 2015). "Визитная карточка Еревана". Noev Kovcheg (in Russian). Archived from the original on 1 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "Կայարան ու Սասունցի Դավիթ' կենդանի պատմություն". mediamax.am (in Armenian). 27 June 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Yeghiazaryan, Artavazd, ed. (September 2014). "Արձանագրություն" (PDF). Yerevan Magazine (in Armenian). 9 (27). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Editorial (1959). "Սասունցի Դավթի արձանի բացումը". Etchmiadzin (in Armenian). 16 (12). Archived from the original on 2023-11-13.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Khachikian, Yakov [in Armenian] (2014). "Из моих бесед с Ервандом Кочаром [From my conversations with Yervand Kochar]". Էսթետիկայի հարցեր [Questions of Aesthetics]. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences. pp. 59-69. ISBN 978-5-8080-1076-5.
  9. ↑ Ter-Matevosyan, Vahram (2023). "From Transcaucasia to the South Caucasus: Structural and Discursive Predicaments in Armenia's Regional Integration". Journal of Borderlands Studies: 1–20. doi:10.1080/08865655.2023.2200782.
  10. ↑ Mkrtchyan, Anush (15 June 2012). "Արվեստագետներին մտահոգում է "Սասունցի Դավիթ" արձանի վիճակը". azatutyun.am (in Armenian). RFE/RL. Archived from the original on 3 January 2021.
  11. 1 2 Holding, Nicholas (2006). Armenia: With Nagorno Karabagh. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 101. ISBN 9781841621630.
  12. ↑ "David of Sasun". kochar.am. Ervand Kochar Museum. Archived from the original on 3 January 2021.
  13. ↑ [2][12][8]
  14. ↑ Voronov, Nikita [in Russian] (1984). Советская монументальная скульптура, 1960-1980 [Soviet monumental sculpture, 1960-1980] (in Russian). Moscow: Iskusstvo. p. 217. Давиду Сасунскому. Бронза, камень. 1959. Ереван
  15. 1 2 Mikhailov, Nikolai [in Russian] (1983). Panorama of the Soviet Union. Moscow: Progress Publishers. p. 196. Nowhere have I seen impetuousness so well as in this sculpture.
  16. 1 2 "«Սասունցի Դավթի» արձանը". hushardzan.am (in Armenian). Armenian Ministry of Culture. 28 February 2023. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 Simyan 2016, p. 87.
  18. 1 2 Stepanian, Nona [in Armenian] (1985). Очерк изобразительного искусства Армении [Survey of the Fine Arts of Armenia] (in Russian). Moscow: Sovetskiy khudozhnik. pp. 87–89. Archived from the original on 2023-11-27.
  19. ↑ Simyan 2016, p. 88.
  20. ↑ Simyan 2016, pp. 87–88.
  21. ↑ "Վանուշ Խանամիրյանի հուղարկավորությունը՝ Երևանի քաղաքային պանթեոնում" (in Armenian). Tert.am. 8 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023.
  22. ↑ "Khanamiryan Vanush". Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia Vol. 5 (in Armenian). Yerevan. 1979. p. 11.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  23. ↑ Simyan 2016, pp. 84–85.
  24. ↑ Simyan 2016, p. 86.
  25. ↑ Anderson, Earl R. (2010). Understanding Beowulf as an Indo-European Epic: A Study in Comparative Mythology. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-7734-3755-5.
  26. ↑ Khachikyan, Ya. I. [in Armenian]; Kazaryan, M. M. [in Armenian], eds. (2004). "Ерванд Кочар. О работе над памятником Давиду Сасунскому [Yervand Kochar: On Working on the Monument to David of Sasun]". Армянские художники об искусстве [Armenian Artists on Art] (in Russian). Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences. p. 234-238. Archived from the original on 2023-12-06.
  27. ↑ "Многомерные объекты Рудольфа Хачатряна [Rudolf Khachatryan's multivariate objects]" (PDF). Di (in Russian). Moscow: Moscow Museum of Modern Art: 46. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-11-22.
  28. 1 2 Arzumanian, Ara (July 2001). "Henrik Igitian, Yervan Kochar". Armenian International Magazine: 72.
  29. ↑ Melikyan, Satenik (2016). "Մտորումներ Վարդգես Սուրենյանցի կորած կտավի շուրջ [Reflection on the lost canvas of Vardges Surenyants]". Kantegh (in Armenian). 4: 260. Archived from the original on 2023-11-23.
  30. ↑ [27][28][29]
  31. ↑ Suniti Kumar Chatterji, Journal of the Asiatic Society, 1961, p. 215; also printed in Chatterji, Select Writings, Volume 1, 1978, p. 112
  32. ↑ Mikoyan, Nami [in Russian] (2003). Своими глазами (in Russian). Moscow: Vagrius. p. 82. ISBN 5-98262-002-5. Конный памятник Давиду Сасунскому, заказанный тогда Ерванду Кочару, украшает город до сих пор.
  33. ↑ Avetisyan, Kamsar [in Armenian] (1979). "Երևանի ընդհանուր նկարագիրը". Հայրենագիտական էտյուդներ (in Armenian). Sovetakan grogh. p. 81. ...հոյակապ արձանը...
  34. 1 2 Balayan, Zori (1988). Дорога (in Russian). Moscow: Sovetsky Pisatel. p. 148.
  35. 1 2 Lang, David Marshall (1980). Armenia: Cradle of Civilization. Allen & Unwin. p. 227. ISBN 9780049560093.
  36. 1 2 Dymshits, Aleksandr (1978). Любовь моя, Армения! [Armenia, My Love!] (in Russian). Yerevan: Sovetakan grogh. p. 159.
  37. ↑ Hasratyan, Murad (2009). "Արարատ Աղասյան. Հայ կերպարվեստի զարգացման ուղիները XIX-XX դարերում, Երևան, "Ոսկան Երևանցի" հրատ., 2009 [Ararat Aghassyan. The Paths of the Development of Armenian Fine Arts of the 19th–20th Centuries]". Patma-Banasirakan Handes (in Armenian) (2–3): 274. Archived from the original on 2023-11-22.
  38. 1 2 Zurabian, Telman S. [in Russian] (1981). "Ерванд Кочар [Ervand Kochar]". Волны счастья [Waves of Happiness] (PDF) (in Russian). Yerevan: Sovetakan grogh. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-12-05.
  39. ↑ according to Albert Sokhikyan, quoted in "Մաէստրո Քոչարը: հուշերի անդրադարձում [Maesto Kochar: In Reflection of Memories" (compiled by Anatoli Hovhannisyan and Lala Martirosyan-Kochar (2016, Yerevan: Antares), ISBN 978-9939-51-999-9. See post by Ervand Kochar Museum.
  40. ↑ Volynsky, Leonid [in Russian] (October 1963). "Краски Закавказья. Две Недели в Армении [Colors of the Transcaucasia: Two Weeks in Armenia]" (PDF). Novy mir (in Russian). Moscow: Union of Soviet Writers. 39 (10): 136. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-12-05.
    • Literaturnaya Armenia, 1970, issues 9-10, page 99. "Трудно не согласиться с Леонидом Волынским, который пишет: «...это лучшая конная статуя, поставленная у нас (имеется в виду вся территория Советского Союза, Г. И.) за столетие, а может быть, и больше.».
  41. 1 2 3 4 Shekoyan, Armen (October 31, 1998). "Հեղափոխություն և Հավատաքննություն 4 [Revolution and Inquisition. Part 4]". Aravot (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 8 December 2023.
  42. ↑ "His statue of David of Sasun, a hero of Armenian epic tales, adorns the capital of Armenia and is considered by many to be the world's best equestrian sculpture of the past century."; reproduced in English in Sputnik: Digest, 1977, p. 56; in German in Sputnik, August 1977, "Mein Land, Armenien", pp. 56-62
  43. ↑ Petrosyan, Gavrill (1981). Armenia. Moscow: Novosti Press Agency Publishing House. p. 40.
  44. ↑ "Death of Varaz Samuelian". Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. November 7, 1995. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023.
  45. ↑ Hakobyan, Aram (2001). Armenians and the World: Yesterday and Today. Yerevan: Noyan Tapan. p. 143. ISBN 9789993051299.
  46. ↑ Bedevian, Ruth (15 February 2007). "Yervand Kochar - Incomparable Talent Evoked the National Spirit of Armenia". Armenian News Network / Groong. University of Southern California. Archived from the original on 10 May 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  47. ↑ Grigorian, Artsvin [in Armenian] (1983). Современная архитектура Армении [Modern Architecture of Armenia] (in Russian). Yerevan: Hayastan. p. 90.
  48. ↑ Ishkhanyan, Avetik (1 July 2019). "Երկու արձան [Two statues]". Hetq (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 1 July 2019.
  49. 1 2 3 Yerevantsi, Voskan (July 28, 2014). "Մեր մայրաքաղաքի արձանները – 2 [The Statues of Our Capital - 2]". Aravot (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 14 November 2023.
  50. ↑ Lewin, Joseph, ed. (1972). "May the Atom ... " A Report of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Delegation to the U.S.S.R., August, 1971. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. p. 103. (archived)
  51. ↑ Adalian, Rouben Paul (2010). Historical Dictionary of Armenia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-8108-7450-3.
  52. ↑ Sital, Karapet (2000). The Heroes of Kasht (Kašti Kʿaǰer). Translated by James R. Russell. Caravan Books. p. 34. ISBN 978-0882060996.
  53. ↑ Basmadjian, Vartoug (1995). "Light in darkness: The spirit of Armenian nonconformist art". In Rosenfeld, Alla; Dodge, Norton T. (eds.). From Gulag to Glasnost: Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union. New York: Thames & Hudson. p. 229. OCLC 263631797.
  54. ↑ Kublitsky, Georgi [in Russian] (1984). The Soviet People: Portrait Sketches. Moscow: Novosti Press Agency Publishing House. p. 19.
  55. ↑ Baliozian, Ara (1980). The Armenians: Their History and Culture. New York: AGBU Ararat Press. p. 151.
  56. ↑ Deheryan, Suren (December 5, 2003). "Արքաներ, հերոսնե՞ր, սարե՞ր. ո՞վ կփոխարինի Լենինին հանրապետության հրապարակում". ArmeniaNow. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023.
  57. 1 2 3 Ter-Ghazaryan, Diana K. (2013). ""Civilizing the city center": symbolic spaces and narratives of the nation in Yerevan's post-Soviet landscape". Nationalities Papers. 41 (4): 570–589. doi:10.1080/00905992.2013.802766. S2CID 128756570.
  58. ↑ "Ս.Դանիելյան. «Եթե անհրաժեշտություն առաջանա, կվերաձեւակերպվի Հանրապետության հրապարակում հուշարձանի տեղադրման մրցույթի առաջադրանքը, լրացուցիչ մրցույթ կհայտարարվի»" (in Armenian). Armenpress. 25 November 2006. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023.
  59. ↑ "Ո՞վ կփոխարինի Լենինին". Aravot (in Armenian). December 5, 2006. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023.
  60. ↑ "1994 - David of Sasoun". Central Bank of Armenia. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023.
  61. ↑ "Monuments of Armenian architecture (V issue). 50th anniversary from the placement of the monument of Davit of Sasun". HayPost. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023.
  62. ↑ Panossian 2006, pp. 340–341.
  63. ↑ Der Hovanessian, Diana (1996). The Circle Dancers. Riverdale-on-Hudson, New York: Sheep Meadow Press. pp. 93-94. ISBN 9781878818553.
Bibliography
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