Early Life, Family and Training To understand the foundation of modern Armenian painting, one must look back to the specific circumstances of Martiros Sarian's birth. He was born on February 16 [February 28, New Style], 1880, in Nakhichevan-on-Don, Russia. As the seventh child of Sargis Saryan and Ustian Chiligaryan, his early environment was shaped by a large family structure. His initial education did not come from a formal institut…