Sirarpie Der Nersessian (5 September 18965 July 1989) was an
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
art historian
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
, who specialized in
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
and
Byzantine studies
Byzantine studies is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the history, culture, demography, dress, religion/theology, art, literature/epigraphy, music, science, economy, coinage and politics of the Eastern Roman Empire. T ...
. Der Nersessian was a renowned academic and a pioneer in
Armenian art
Armenian art is the unique form of art developed over the last five millennia in which the Armenian people lived on the Armenian Highland. Armenian architecture and miniature painting have dominated Armenian art and have shown consistent deve ...
history. She taught at several institutions in 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 ...
, including
Wellesley College
Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...
in Massachusetts and as
Henri Focillon
Henri Focillon (7 September 1881 – 3 March 1943) was a French art historian.
He was the son of the printmaker Victor-Louis Focillon.
He was Director of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon. Professor of Art History at the University of Lyon, at t ...
Professor of Art and Archaeology at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.
She was a
senior fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
at
Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and garden of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, M ...
, its deputy director from 1954–55 and 1961–62, and a member of its Board of Scholars. Der Nersessian was also a member of several international institutions such as the
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
(1975), the
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions ( epig ...
(1978), and the
Armenian Academy of Sciences
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 ...
(1966).
[
]
Biography
Education
Der Nersessian was born the youngest of three children in Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
in 1896. She came from a well-to-do family and her maternal uncle happened to be the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople (french: Patriarche de Constantinople, tr, Konstantinopolis Ermeni Patriği), also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul, is today head of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople ( hy, Պատրիա ...
, Malachia Ormanian
Malachia Ormanian ( hy, Մաղաքիայ Օրմանեան; 11 February 1841 – 19 November 1918) was the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople from 1896 to 1908. He was also a theologian, historian, and philologist.
Life
Boghos Ormanian (baptism ...
.[ Her parents died while she was still young: her mother Akabi, when she was nine, and her father Mihran, when she was eighteen.] She attended the Esayan Academy and the English Girls School in Constantinople, gaining fluency in Armenian, English and French at an early age. In 1915, during the height of the Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
, Der Nersessian and her sister Arax (by then orphans) were forced to leave for Europe, where they took up residence in Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
. Der Nersessian studied at the University of Geneva
The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...
for several years until settling in 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 1919.
Der Nersessian was admitted to Sorbonne University
Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon ...
, studying history at the École des Hautes Études de l'université de Paris. She studied under the notable Byzantinologists Charles Diehl
Charles Diehl (; 19 January 1859 – 1 November 1944) was a French historian born in Strasbourg. He was a leading authority on Byzantine art and history.
Biography
He received his education at the École Normale Supérieure, and later taught cl ...
and Gabriel Millet
Gabriel Millet (17 April 1867 – 8 May 1953) was a French archaeologist and historian.
Biography
After he passed his agrégation of history in 1891, Gabriel Millet became a member of the French School at Athens, then director of the École ...
and art historian Henri Focillon
Henri Focillon (7 September 1881 – 3 March 1943) was a French art historian.
He was the son of the printmaker Victor-Louis Focillon.
He was Director of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon. Professor of Art History at the University of Lyon, at t ...
. In 1922, she became Millet's assistant, and with his help, published one of her first articles in 1929.[ The two theses (graduates students then had to submit two theses) that she presented for her ''doctorat d'etat'', "L'illustration du roman de Barlaam et Joasaph" and a paper on Armenian illuminated manuscripts during the late medieval period,] were well-received (earning a ''Mention très honorable''), and both of them were awarded with prizes by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions ( epig ...
and ''Revue des Études Grecques'' when they were published in 1937.
Professor and pioneer
In 1930, Der Nersessian moved to 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 ...
at the suggestion of her three mentors, Byzantinists Charles Rufus Morey
Charles Rufus Morey (20 November 1877 – 28 August 1955) was an American art historian, professor, and chairman of the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University from 1924 to 1945. He had expertise in medieval art and founded the I ...
, Albert M. Friend Jr., and Walter Cook, becoming a part-time lecturer at Wellesley College
Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...
in . She taught art history at Wellesley, quickly gaining a full professorship and later becoming the chairwoman of the Department of Art History and Director of Farnsworth Museum. Der Nersessian was the first woman to teach Byzantine art at a woman's college, the first woman to be decorated with the medal of Saint Gregory the Illuminator by Catholicos Vazgen I
Vazgen I also Vazken I of Bucharest, (), born Levon Garabed Baljian ( hy, Լևոն Կարապետ Աբրահամի Պալճյան; September 20, 1908 – August 18, 1994) was the Catholicos of All Armenians between 1955 and 1994, for a total of 3 ...
in 1960, the first woman invited to lecture at the Collège de France in Paris, the only woman in her time to gain full professorship at Dumbarton Oaks, and the second woman to be honored with a gold medal from the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1970. In 1947, she received the Achievement Award from the American Association of University Women.
Der Nersessian remained at Dumbarton Oaks until 1978, when she retired to France and lived with her sister in Paris.[ Upon retirement, she had her entire library shipped to the ]Matenadaran
The Matenadaran ( hy, Մատենադարան), officially the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, is a museum, repository of manuscripts, and a research institute in Yerevan, Armenia. It is the world's largest repository of Armenian ...
in Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
, so as to better help Armenian scholars in their studies. Shortly after her death in 1989, an endowment fund for prospective art history students in Armenia, Fonds Sirarpie Der Neressian at the Institut de Recherches sur les Miniatures Arméno-Byzantines, was created in her honor.
Bibliography
Der Nersessian's work primarily concerned Armenian art history, including the study of church architecture
Church architecture refers to the architecture of buildings of churches, convents, seminaries etc. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly by borrowing other architectural styles as ...
, illuminated manuscripts
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
, miniatures and sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
. Below is a partial list of books and articles that she authored. Her 1945 book, ''Armenia and the Byzantine Empire'', was praised by art historians David Talbot Rice
David Talbot Rice (11 July 1903 in Rugby – 12 March 1972 in Cheltenham) was an English archaeologist and art historian. He has been described variously as a "gentleman academic" and an "amateur" art historian, though such remarks are no ...
, Jurgis Baltrušaitis
Jurgis Baltrušaitis (May 2, 1873 – January 3, 1944) was a Lithuanian symbolist poet and translator, who wrote his works in Lithuanian and Russian. In addition to his important contributions to Lithuanian literature, he was noted as a politica ...
, and Alexander Vasiliev. Vasiliev wrote in his review of the book that she is "the best authority of our day on Armenian history, art, and civilization."
Books
*''Armenia and the Byzantine Empire''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1945.
*''Aght'amar: Church of the Holy Cross''. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1964.
*''Armenian Manuscripts in the Walters Art Gallery''. Baltimore: The Trustees, 1973.
*''Armenian miniatures from Isfahan''. Brussels: Les Editeurs d’Art Associés, 1986.
*''The Armenians''. New York: Praeger, 1969.
* ''L'Art arménien''. Paris: Art européen. Publications filmées d'art et d'histoire, 1965.
* ''L'illustration du roman de Barlaam et Joasaph''. Paris: de Boccard, 1937.
*''Miniature Painting in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from the Twelfth to the Fourteenth Century''. Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Studies, 1993.
Articles
*"The Armenian Chronicle of the Constable Smpad or of the 'Royal Historian.'" Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 13, 1959, pp. 141–168.
*"An Armenian Gospel of the Fifteenth Century." ''The Boston Public Library Quarterly''. 1950, pp. 3–20.
* "A General View of the Manuscripts of San Lazarro." ''Bazmavep
''Bazmavep'' (''Pazmaveb'' in Western Armenian; hy, Բազմավէպ, "Polyhistory") is an academic journal covering Armenian studies. It is published by the Mechitarist monastery in San Lazzaro degli Armeni, Venice, Italy. According to Robert ...
''. Venice, 1947, pp. 269–272.
*"Pagan and Christian Art in Egypt. An exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum." ''The Art Bulletin''. Vol. 33, 1941, pp. 165–167.
*"Two Miracles of the Virgin in the Poems of Gautier de Coincy." Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 41, 1987, pp. 157–163.
*"The Kingdom of Cilician Armenia", ''A History of the Crusades'', edited by Kenneth M. Setton, 1969.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Der Nersessian, Sirarpie
1896 births
1989 deaths
Writers from Istanbul
Armenian art historians
French Byzantinists
Wellesley College faculty
Harvard University faculty
University of Paris alumni
Women art historians
Armenians from the Ottoman Empire
Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America
20th-century Armenian historians
20th-century Armenian women writers
Armenian Byzantinists
French women historians
Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy
Scholars of Byzantine history
Women Byzantinists
Women medievalists
20th-century French women writers
Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to France
Historians of Byzantine art