The Upper Floor (Vernatun / Vernadoun)

Vahe H. Apelian

I post this picture courtesy of  Facebook group called Դիմատետրի Մտքի Բարեկամներ (Facebook Friends of the Mind), which is administered by George Ambardjian. The characters in the picture were identified there. The information I posted about each person depicted in the painting is mostly from the Wikipedia. I used either the Eastern or the Western Armenian phonetic transliteration. 

The painting is attributed to Dimitry Nalbandyan (Դմիտրի Նալբանդյան). He was a Soviet Armenian painter People’s Artist of the USSR, member of the USSR Academy of Arts, Hero of Socialist Labor, twice winner of Stalin Prize. He was born  on September 15, 1906 in Tibilisi, Geogia and died on July 2, 1933 in Moscow, Russia. 

The painting is titled Vernadoun (Վերնատուն), which literally means the upper floor.

The eminent man of letters Hovhannes Toumanian founded a literary club in 1899. The members of the club met in the Toumanyan’s apartment, which was located at 44 Behrutyan Street, Tbilisi (Georgia), on the fourth floor, whence the name of the gathering came to be known as Vernatun (Vernadoun). The term is still used to this day in reference to meeting by prominent persons for a cause be it literary or political.

The members of the get together met once or twice a week and socialized. During these meetings, these great men of letters read and discussed the works of new and classic authors of Armenian and world literature, as well as presented their own literary works for general criticism.

The Vernatun existed for the next seven to eight years and ceased to exist at the end of 1908. The gathering became the cornerstone of the "Caucasian Society of Armenian Writers", which was founded in 1922, with Hovhannes Toumanian as its president.

The painting is the artist’s rendering of some of the notables in Armenian history who met in Hovhannes Toumanyan’s house. Not all who attended the get together in the Toumanian’s upper floor apartment were always men of letters. It is claimed that General Antranig attended also whenever he was in Tbilisi. It is also said that he was a superb raconteur and mesmerized his audience.

The following are depicted in the painting.

1. ԱԼԵՔՍԱՆԴՐ ՍՊԵՆԴԻԱՐՅԱՆ (ALEXANDER SPENDIARYAN)

Born on November 1, 1871 in Kakhovka, Ukraine

Died on May 7, 1928 in Yerevan, Armenia

Alexander Afanasyevich Spendiaranov was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor, founder of Armenian national symphonic music. 

2. ԱԼԵՔՍԱՆԴՐ ՇԻՐՎԱՆԶԱԴԵ (ALEXANDER SHIRVANZADE)

Born on April 18, 1858 in Sirvan, Azerbaijan

Died on August 7, 1936, Kislovodsk, Russia

Alexander Movsisian, better known by his pen name Alexander Shirvanzade, was  an Armenian playwright and novelist.

3. ԳևՈՐԳ ԲԱՇԻՆՋԱՂՅԱՆ (GEVORG PASHINJAGHIAN)

Born on  October 28, 1857 in Sighnaghi, Georgia

Died on October 4, 1925 in Tbilisi, Georgia

He was an Armenian painter who had a significant influence  on Armenian landscape painting.

4. ՎԱՀԱՆ ՏԵՐՅԱՆ (VAHAN TERIAN)

Born on January 28, 1885 in Tiflis Governorate

Died on January 7, 1920 in Orenburg, Russia

Was an Armenian poet, lyrist, and public activist. He is known for hos sorrowful, romantic poems, the most famous of which are still read and sung in their musical versions.

5. ՂԱԶԱՐՈՍ ԱՂԱՅԱՆ (GHAZAROS AGHAYAN) 

Born on  April 4, 1840 in Tiflis Governorate

Died on July 20, 1911 in Tbilisi, Georgia

He was an Armenian writer, educator, folklorist, historian, linguist and public figure.

6. ԴԵՐԵՆԻԿ ԴԵՄԻՐՃՅԱՆ (TERENIG DEMIRCHIAN) 

Born on February 6, 1877 in Tbilisi

Died on December 6, 1936 in Yerevan.

He was an Armenian writer, novelist, poet, translator, and playwright

7.ՊԵՏՐՈՍ ԱԴԱՄՅԱՆ (BEDROS ADAMIAN)

Born on 1849, Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire

Died on June 3, 1891, Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire

He was an outstanding Armenian actor, poet, artist and pubic figure. According to Russian critics his interpretation of Hamlet and Othello put Adamian’s name among the best tragedians of the world.

8. ՎԱՐԴԳԵՍ ՍՈՒՐԵՆՅԱՆՑ (VARTGES SURENIANTS)

Born on February 27, 1860 Akhaltsikhe, Georgia

Died on April 6, 1921, Yalta

He was an Armenian painter, sculptor, illustrator, translator, art critic , and theater artist. He is considered the founder of Armenian historical painting. His paintings feature scenes from Armenian fairy-tales and various historical events.

9. ՄԱՐՏԻՐՈՍ ՍԱՐՅԱՆ (MARDIROS SARIAN) 

Born on February 28, 1880 in Nakhichevan-on-Don, Russia

Died on May 5, 1972 in Yerevan, Armenia 

He was an Armenian painter, the founder of modern Armenian national school of painting.

10. ԵՂԻՇԵ ԹԱԴևՈՍՅԱՆ, (YEGHISH TATIOSSIAN)  (1870-1936)

Born on September 14, 1870, in Vagharshabad (Armenia) 

Died on January 27, 1936,  in Tblisi, Georgia 

He was a famous Armenian landscape painter. This year (1920) the Armenian government celebrated the 150the anniversary of his birth.

11. ԿՈՄԻՏԱՍ (KOMIDAS) 

Born on October 8 1869 in Kutahya, Turkey 

Died on October 22 , 1935 Villejuif, France

He was an Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer and choirmaster who is considered the founder of the Armenian national school of music. He is recognized as the one of the pioneers of the ethnomusicology.

12. ՍՏԵՓԱՆ ԼԻՍԻՑՅԱՆ (STEPAN LISITSYAN)

Born on October 4, 1865, Tbilisi, Georgia

Died on January 4, 1947, Yerevan, Armenia 

He was an Armenian historian, translator, pet an public figure.

13. Ավետիք Իսահակյան (AVETIK ISAHAKYAN) 

Born on October 30, 1875 in Gyumri, Armenia

Died on October 17, 1957 in Yerevan, Armenia

He was a prominent Armenian lyric poet, writer, and public activist.

14. ՀԱԿՈԲ ՀԱԿՈԲՅԱՆ (HAKOB HAKOBYAN)

He was born on May 29, 1866, in Tblisi

Died on December 13, 1937 in Tbilisi, Georgia

He was a poet, translator and an influential writer. 

15. ՀՈՎՀԱՆՆԵՍ ԹՈՒՄԱՆՅԱՆ (HOVHANNES TOUMANYAN) 

Born on February 10, 1869, Lori Province, Armenia

Died on March 23, 1928 in Moscow, Russia

He was an Armenian poet, writer, translator, and literary and public activist. He is the national poet of Armenia. Tumanyan wrote poems, quatrains, ballads, novels, fables, and critics and journalistic articles.

Note: I would like to thank Paris Erganian for noting my error and correcting the biographical information about Hagob Hagobyan/Hagop Hagopian), 10/21/2021.