Early Life, Family and Training

Stepan Aghajanian enters the world in Shusha in 1863. He is born into a household defined by the precise, tactile work of a tailor. His early years are shaped by the structured environment of the Shusha Diocesan School, where he remains from 1872 until 1881. The focus shifts toward a local Russian school, a setting he inhabits until 1884.

The trajectory of his life moves toward the coast. In 1886, Aghajanian leaves his surroundings for Marseille. He spends the next four years, until 1890, immersed in the study of art in this French port city. This period marks the transition from a student in the Caucasus to a practitioner in Europe.

Academic Training in Paris

Paris becomes the center of his technical development. After his initial studies in Marseille, he enters the Académie Julian. The atmosphere is rigorous. Between 1897 and 1900, he navigates the intense discipline of the academy, refining his approach to form and light.

He works under the guidance of Jean-Paul Laurens and Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant. These mentors shape his ability to handle complex compositions. He absorbs their methods during these three years in France. His time in the studio focuses on the fundamentals of portraiture and landscape, building the technical foundation that defines his later output.

Return to Armenia and Later Years

The year 1921 marks a definitive shift as he returns to Armenia amidst the upheaval of the Russian Civil War. The landscape of his life changes from the academic circles of Europe to the instructional needs of a nation in transition. He settles into a period of teaching, eventually finding a permanent place within the educational infrastructure of the country.

After 1929, his focus turns toward the classroom at the Art Industrial College, an institution known today as the Panos Terlemezyan State College of Fine Arts. Here, he shapes the next generation of painters. His contributions to the arts are formally recognized through high honors; he is awarded the title of People's Artist of the Armenian SSR and receives the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. These accolades reflect a lifetime of technical mastery and institutional influence. He remains in this professional sphere until his death in Yerevan in 1940.