The Central Bank of Armenia issued a silver commemorative coin dedicated to The 150th anniversary of Arshak Fetvadjian's birth on 25th of January 2016

Arshak Fetvadjian (1866-1947) is an Armenian painter and art historian.He graduated from the Fine Arts College in Constantinople in 1887, and then studied at the Fine Arts Academy of San Luca in Rome (1887-1891).

Commissioned by the government of the First Republic of Armenia (1918-1920) Fetvadjian developed the sketches of Armenian stamps and banknotes and used symbolic images as elements of the design.He joined the St Petersburg Imperial Russian Union of Aquarellists, becoming its first foreign member, and the International Society of French Aquarellists in Paris. Exhibited in the Department of Decorative Arts of the Louvre in 1920, Fetvadjian’s works aroused admiration of Armenian and foreign critics.

In 1921, the London’s Victoria and Albert Museum opened an exhibition of paintings by Fetvadjian, which lasted about 3 months and was broadly covered by British newspapers.

In 1922, a similar exhibition was arranged at the Royal Institute of British Architects.Fetvadjian painted monuments located in the town of Ani and its neighboring districts; created portraits of Armenian women dressed in national costumes typical for about 20 provinces of Armenia; performed wall paintings and sculptural decorations of Kamoyan’s St Gevork Church in Tiflis.

Fetvadjian organized reconstruction of Holy Virgins’ St Stepanos Church in Tiflis and St Gevork Church in Armavir; styled the altar and door of St Gregory Church in Kars.He made translations from Italian and French; authored several articles dedicated to the history of Armenian art and architecture as well as world fine arts.Most works created by Fetvadjian were handed over to the National Gallery of Armenia at his last will. Some works are kept in private collections in the USA and other countries.

Face value is 100 drams. The coins are made of 925 fine silver; the size is 28.0х40.0 mm and weight—28.28 grams. Colored paints were used for the coin production.

Source of information: Central Bank of Armenia www.cba.am