Hovhannes "Jean" Semerdjian ( hy, Հովհաննես "Ժանսեմ" Միրիջանի Սեմերջյան, 9 March 1920 – 27 August 2013), also known as Jean Jansem, was a

French-Armenian Armenians in France ( hy, ֆրանսահայեր, translit=Fransahayer; french: Arméniens de France) are France, French citizens of Armenians, Armenian ancestry. The French Armenian community is, by far, the largest in the European Union and the A ...

painter. Jansem's artworks are internationally known, and are part of museum collections throughout France, Japan and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. A Foreign member of the

National Academy of Sciences of Armenia The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետության գիտությունների ազգային ակադեմիա, ՀՀ ԳԱԱ, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri az ...

(2002). He was awarded by the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

in 1953 and by the Knight of the

French Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

in 2003. The President of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

awarded Jansem a Medal of Honor for his “reinforcement of Armenian-French cultural ties.”

Biography

Jean Jansem self-portrait 2020 stamp of Armenia

Hovhannes Semerdjian was born in 1920 in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

, then in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. In 1922, his family fled to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. He spent his childhood in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

. They arrived to

Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cath ...

suburb of

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1931 when he was 11 and that is when he begin to paint. The first professional schools for Jansem became free academies of

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...

(1934–1936). He studied in the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs. His teachers were Brianshon, Legjon and Udon. Jansem also studied at the Sabatie studio for a year. Early paintings by Jansem were mainly to national issues. He had individual exhibitions in Paris, New York, Chicago, London, Tokyo, Rome, Brussels, Lausanne, Beirut etc. Hovhannes Semerdjian was elected the President of the Young Artists' Saloon in 1956. He won the Comparison prize in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in 1958. In Japan, two museums were built to honor Jansem′s work, located in Tokyo Ginza and

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

Azumino is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 97,761 in 39744 households. and a population density of 290 persons per km2. Its total area is . Etymology of Azumino Azumino is a combination of two wo ...

. In 1973 he visited Armenia for the first time. In 2001, 34 of his paintings were given to the Armenian Genocide Museum. Jansem’s primary sources of inspiration were

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...

and Brueghel. His mother and his children were the main heroes in his earlier works. Jansem was characterized as a ''miserablist'', an artist of unfortunate people. On 10 March 2010, the day after Jansem's 90th birthday, during a visit to France, the

President of Armenia The president of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Նախագահ, Hayastani Nakhagah) is the head of state and the guarantor of independence and territorial integrity of Armenia elected to a single seven-year term by the National Assembly of Arme ...

awarded Jansem a medal of honour saying the following, "Our nation is proud of you and values highly your art. While living outside Armenia, you have made our country more recognizable, extending our nation's good name all over the world." Jansem died on 27 August 2013, aged 93, outside Paris.World famous Jansem dies
armenpress.am. 28 August 2013

Awards

(1953), *Prix Comparaison (1958, Mexico), *prize of the Biennale (1962, Bruges), *Panamanian prize «Vahagn» (2002), *

Mesrop Mashtots Medal The Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots () is awarded for significant achievements in economic development of Armenia, natural and social sciences, inventions, culture, education, healthcare, and public service, as well as for activities promoting scient ...

(2002), *

Legion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

(2003), *Medal of Honor (2010, Armenia).

References

External links

*
Jean Jansem's biographyJean Jansem websitePresident Sarkisian Honors French-Armenian Artist JansemJean Jansem paintingsAzumino Jansem museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jansem, Jean 1920 births 2013 deaths People from Bursa Ethnic Armenian painters French people of Armenian descent 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters 21st-century French painters 21st-century French male artists École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs alumni French contemporary artists Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece Greek emigrants to France