Painted, Printed, and Proliferated: Armenian Vernacular Images and the Early Modern Iconographic Diaspora

This project examines the artistic and cultural dynamics of Armenian art during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a period marked by the formation of an aesthetic language shaped by the conditions of displacement and diasporic identity. During this transformative period, Armenian communities in urban centers such as Amsterdam, Venice, Istanbul, Isfahan, and Jerusalem fostered a distinctive visual vernacular, blending medieval traditions with modern tastes. At the heart of this inquiry is the Armenian printed book, which served not only as a generative contact zone between text and image, but also as a venue for artistic experimentation, driven by new technologies, printing methods, and aesthetic trends.

Focusing on the intermediality of so-called “late” Armenian art, this study examines three interconnected themes: the simultaneous illumination and illustration of manuscripts and printed books within the Armenian diaspora stretching from Venice to Isfahan; the intertwined social, religious, and economic histories of the Venetian and Dutch Republics alongside the Ottoman and Safavid empires that shaped Armenian communities and their transcultural (by)products; and the translation and translatability of iconographic formulae across multiple media.

By framing Armenian art within the conceptual framework of diaspora, this project reconceptualizes Armenian aesthetic production as a direct response to the layered diasporic experiences of artists, patrons, and the networks in which they operation. Diaspora, here, becomes a category for analyzing how Armenian art visualizes notions of migration, cultural hybridity, and identity formation. Through this lens, Armenian diasporic art emerges as a practice marked by the tensions of belonging and assimilation, preserving traces of a homeland while navigating the complexities of new cultural landscapes. This approach positions the art of the Armenian diaspora as a vital site of innovation and resilience on the brink of modernism.