From Dark to Light - The Shroud of Turin Website

From Dark to Light: The Life and Art of Ariel AgemianArtIt was amusing and sometimestiresome for me to dress in thosegarments the Pharisees and Christand Blessed Mother wore. It wasa practice in patience for me. Hewanted to capture the light and seethe folds. I am reminded, by thosewho knew me as a young girl, thatmy long curly blonde hair was inmost of his portraits of Christ. Mymother was the model for the manyof the Blessed Mothers.When his daughter, Annig, madeher First Communion, he had hermodel in five-minute intervals inbetween which she could run outand play until he finished her portrait(figure 8). She told me that she hadwanted a photograph “like the otherkids” at the time, but was resigned tositting for her portrait. It is a lovelypastel drawing of a real little girlwearing a delicate veil and dress thathad obviously been given to her byparents who valued the momentousoccasion of her First Holy Communion.Rather than have his daughterlook back at him, Ariel Agemiandirected her serious gaze towards herheavenly Father instead.In 1958, Pope Pius XII awardedAgemian a gold medal for his work,and he was knighted to the Order ofSaint Gregory. He died unexpectedlyfive years later from a heart attack.His wife died three years after that,leaving their twenty-three-year-olddaughter with the sole responsibilityof cataloging her father’s works,Figure 8: Annig’s First Communion, 1951 (pastel).Private Collection.having them restored, and solvingthe mysteries of the chronology andlocation of older works. In 1987, shetraveled to Paris and discovered avery large mural he had painted fora church in Arnoueville, France. Inthe mid-1990s, she traveled to Italyand visited a series of murals he hadpainted for the Mekhitarist monks inexchange for the education they hadgiven him. She has shouldered themonumental task of caring for theartwork in her possession but hopesto find a permanent home for themin museums and churches that willvalue his legacy.His work is on display at severalchurches in the United States. Hepainted an array of Carmelite Saintsfor the National Shrine of Our Ladyof Mount Carmel in Middletown,Figure 10: Oneness in Christ, 1958 (oil). Saint Bernard ofClairvaux Catholic Church, New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania.New York (figure 9). The paintingOneness in Christ (figure 10)was donated to Saint Bernard ofClairveux Catholic Church in NewBloomfield, Pennsylvania. There arealso paintings at Holy Cross ArmenianCatholic Church in Belmont,Massachusetts; SaintMark’s ArmenianCatholic Churchin Wynnewood,Pennsylvania; andAnna Maria Collegein Paxton, Massachusetts.✠Ariel AgemianNotes1. The information in this essay was gathered during aninterview on January 26th, 2013, with Annig Raleyin her home in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, andher website www.agemianpaintings.com. All imagesprovided courtesy of Annig Raley.2. “Professor Ariel Agemian Paintings Decorate MooratCollege in Milan, Armenian Churches in Paris andCollege S. Moorat in Sevres” News Release, March 28,1938, New York, New York.Figure 9: All Carmelite Saints, 1941 (oil). National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Middletown, New York.Gwyneth Holston iscurrently studyingacademic paintingand drawing at anatelier. Images of herwork are availableon her website www.gwynethholston.com.Summer 201369