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Արտիստը [Artiste]
Shirvanzade’s “The Artist” is a novel which perfectly describes the depth of Levon's soul and his artistic temperament. Whilst this is not a story about the artistic personality, it is rather the story of talent and youth falling victim to the obstacles, the unpredictability and the accidents of life.
The novel charms the reader with its gentle description of teenage Levon, passionate about the opera, theatre and music. Possessed of a tender sensibility and creativity he is however trapped into circumstances inimical to his ambitions. In Levon's mother, a rather weak, perhaps broken woman, Shirvanzade encapsulates well some of the plebeian hostility to the artistic character often seen as good for nothings incapable of putting bread on the table
The novel charms the reader with its gentle description of teenage Levon, passionate about the opera, theatre and music. Possessed of a tender sensibility and creativity he is however trapped into circumstances inimical to his ambitions. In Levon's mother, a rather weak, perhaps broken woman, Shirvanzade encapsulates well some of the plebeian hostility to the artistic character often seen as good for nothings incapable of putting bread on the table
96 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1901
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About the author
Alexandre Shirvanzade
28 books31 followersAlexandre Shirvanzade (born Alexander Movsisyan) was an Armenian playwright and novelist. Alexander Movsisyan was born on April 18, 1858, into a tailor's family in the province of Shirvan, in what is now Azerbaijan (then Shemakha Governorate, Russian Empire), and later adopted the pen-name Shirvanzade (son of Shirvan). He brought to fruition the social realist school of Armenian drama promoted by Gabriel Sundukian a generation earlier. At the age of 17, Shirvanzade went to work in the Caspian city of Baku whose fortunes were beginning to rise with the boom in oil production.
He immersed himself in Armenian and Russian literature as well as reading Stendahl, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola and Shakespeare, his greatest love. Working first as a clerk and then as an accountant for oil companies, Shirvanzade saw first-hand the social impact of industrialized oil production. He turned his shock and anger into a literature of protest, writing in many genres: novels, plays, short stories, and newspaper articles. His later protests against the massacres perpetrated during 1894-96 against Armenians in the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Abdulhamid II resulted in his imprisonment in Tiflis, an experience which led to his masterpiece, Chaos (1896-97). Returning to Baku, he became increasingly interested in women's issues, as shown in his play Evgine about women's suffrage, and Did She Have the Right? Shirvanzade's concerns with capitalism and feminism fuse in his drama, For the Sake of Honor (1904).
In 1916, Maxim Gorki wrote that Shirvanzade's works "were known and read not only in the Caucasus but also in England, in the Scandinavian Peninsula, and Italy." In his later years, Shirvanzade lived abroad, finally returning permanently to Yerevan in 1926. He died in Kislovodsk in 1935, and was buried in Yerevan.
He immersed himself in Armenian and Russian literature as well as reading Stendahl, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola and Shakespeare, his greatest love. Working first as a clerk and then as an accountant for oil companies, Shirvanzade saw first-hand the social impact of industrialized oil production. He turned his shock and anger into a literature of protest, writing in many genres: novels, plays, short stories, and newspaper articles. His later protests against the massacres perpetrated during 1894-96 against Armenians in the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Abdulhamid II resulted in his imprisonment in Tiflis, an experience which led to his masterpiece, Chaos (1896-97). Returning to Baku, he became increasingly interested in women's issues, as shown in his play Evgine about women's suffrage, and Did She Have the Right? Shirvanzade's concerns with capitalism and feminism fuse in his drama, For the Sake of Honor (1904).
In 1916, Maxim Gorki wrote that Shirvanzade's works "were known and read not only in the Caucasus but also in England, in the Scandinavian Peninsula, and Italy." In his later years, Shirvanzade lived abroad, finally returning permanently to Yerevan in 1926. He died in Kislovodsk in 1935, and was buried in Yerevan.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 14, 2015
Ես ատում եմ այս ստեղծագործությունը... Լևոնը արտիստ չեղավ կյանքում կյանքը զոհելով մեկի համար ով նրան արժանի չէր...
August 4, 2015
Լևոնն այս աշխարհից չէր և այն ի զորու չէր պահել նրա ծանր գոյությունը:
February 16, 2024
Ինչքան տխրություն ու տառապանք կար էս գրքում։
Անարդար կյանք, խեղճ Լևոն։
Մեծ ցավ ապրեցի յուրաքանչյուր էջը կարդալուց, Լևոնը իսկական ՚Արտիստ՚, որը ուզում եմ հավատալ կապրեր եթե ունենար իր կողքին ուժեղ ու ամուր մայր:
Անարդար կյանք, խեղճ Լևոն։
Մեծ ցավ ապրեցի յուրաքանչյուր էջը կարդալուց, Լևոնը իսկական ՚Արտիստ՚, որը ուզում եմ հավատալ կապրեր եթե ունենար իր կողքին ուժեղ ու ամուր մայր:
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August 22, 2014I'm very satisfied
May 8, 2020
Կարծես թե լավագույն գիրքը, որտեղ Արտիստն ինքն իրեն կգտնի ^^
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews