Rudolf Khachatryan

Rudolf Khachatryan (Roudolf Khachatrian) was born in Yerevan in 1937. He started painting and drawing at the age of three and at 18 he exhibited his drawings at different exhibitions. Rudolf Khachatryan attended the Yerevan Fine Art College for a few months in 1951, but was expelled over disagreement on educational principles. He met the prominent painter and sculptor Ervand Kochar in 1952 who became young artist’s mentor and friend, giving him drawing lessons.

He lived in Paris for a long period, returned to Armenia and lived in Moscow since 1971.

Rudolf Khachatryan died in 2007 at the age of 70 during heart surgery in Germany. 

His created paintings and portraits, using various media. In particular, white or colored paper, pencil, light-brown liquid ink (sepia), and red chalk pencil (sanguine), pen and brush.

Lateron he focused more on creating portraits and still lifes with black or monochromatic ocher pencil, developing his own distinctive artistic style, his famous realistic artworks on gesso.

But he has also unique characters and sculptures from his late period.

His artworks have been stored in museums and private collections and exhibited in different international exhibitions such as in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Odessa, London and Yerevan.

One night, when little Rudolf was lying in bed and thinking, a bright light appeared just in front of him. The boy saw a kind face outlined in this light, he closed his eyes again. When he reopened his eyes, the face was still there. The boy was so afraid, that he cried. In the morning the boy said to his mum that he had seen God. Many years later, he reminisced: “The first time we cry is when we are born. The second time I was crying was when I was born as a human”.

1955  Participated in local and international exhibitions

1959  Awarded Bronze medal at the exhibition of the Youth and Students' seventh world festival in Vienna

1959  Awarded Gold medal at the first Biennale of the Transcaucasian republics

1960  Became member of the USSR Artists’ Union

1950-1960s was awarded Gold and Silver medals in the scope of various festivals

1961  The State Gallery of Armenia acquired several portraits by him of Armenian cultural intellectuals

1971  Lived and worked in Moscow

1977  Became Honored Artist of Armenia

1984  Became People’s Artist of Armenia

1989-1994 Lived and worked in London

1997  Awarded the Medal of People’s Friendship by the President of Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin

2002  Became a corresponding member of the Academy of Fine Arts of Russia

2003  Awarded RA Medal of Movses Khorenatsi

2003  Awarded the Gold Medal of the Franz Kafka European Organization