Armenian Orientalist Framed Oil Painting by Chemavon (1918)
Our charming Orientalist oil on canvas depicts three young Arab men seated in the desert beside their resting camels at sunset. Signed C. Chemavon 1918. Stretcher measures 15.25 by 25.25 inches and the giltwood frame measures 19.5 by 28.5 inches.
The name is of Armenian origin, and in English may be translated also to Shamavon, Shmavon or Shumavon. Chemavon is believed to be a French translation of the name.
In Fragments of a Lost Homeland: Remembering Armenia, by Armen T. Marsoobian, published in 2015 by I.B. Tauris, the author tells the story of the Dildilian family, whose diaries, letters and extensive photographs survived the 1915 genocide. Members of this family were known to have trained in high art and pursued a business in fine art photography. A member of the family known to have been fluent in French used the name Chemavon.
