A prist from Armenia

1855 Grigory Gagarin’s ‘A Prist from Armenia’ – a stunning watercolor depicting an Armenian monk. Explore this 19th-century ethnographic print's realism & cultural significance.


grigory grigorievich gagarin (1810 - 1893)

Grigory Gagarin (1810-1893) was a Russian painter, diplomat & administrator known for his portraits of Caucasian peoples & illustrations of Pushkin's works. Explore his unique window into 19th-century Russian art and culture.

Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History (Tbilisi, Georgia)

Designed in a historicist style blending Gothic and Islamic architectural elements, overseen by Aleksander Rogojski. Its ornate facade and intricate details make it a visual spectacle.

Born in Saint Petersburg to the noble Rurikid princely family Grigory Gagarin was a Russian painter,Major General and diplomat.A friend of Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov, In 1848-1855 Gagarin lived in Tiflis served under Mikhail Vorontsov. Among the military and administrative duties, Gagarin did a lot of works for the city. He built a theater, frescoed the Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral, and restored frescoes of the old Georgian cathedrals, including the Betania monastery. In his records ‘The journey to Caucasus’ a French writer Alexander Duma (the father) writes: I have never seen such a delightful theatre building before. With its vestibule, interior, theatre curtain and wall paintings it reminds me building of Pompey Theatre. The Art Palace of Georgia possesses a valuable collection of Gagarin’s ‘Sketches and Drawings of Caucasian People’