One day in 1960 William Saroyan, Gourgen Mahari and Rafael Aramyan visited the working place of Martiros Saryan. The writers were talking to him and watching his paintings. At that time Saryan had already made the portrait of Saroyan, where he had a red tie. By the way, when painting the portrait of Saroyan, Saryan asked him: “A couple of days ago Gourgen Mahari saw you in Moscow and said that you had a perfect mustache. Where is your mustache?”. He was ashamed to say the reason, but as he later said he had shortened his mustache to look younger and not to differ much from local Armenians. Saryan and Saroyan first met in 1935. They met in 25 years again (in the photo). Saryan is already 80, and Saroyan is 52. During this visit Martoros Saryan was showing his guests his two recent portraits. Saryan asked Saroyan: “Could you tell me please which one of these portraits is better?” With this question he tried both to make a joke and express his opinion. Saroyan answered to this paradoxical question in such a paradoxical way as it was: “This portrait is beautiful, and this one is great”. But he didn’t point out which one he meant. Their conversation was interrupted at the moment when famous photographer Andranik Kochar entered the room. The photographer took the photo of the moment when Saryan was pointing out on him by saying: “And here is the great representative of the beautiful”. In this picture it seems that Saryan is talking to everyone and pointing out at something very interesting. As for what Saryan is pointing out at the son of Andranik Kochar: photographer Vahan Kochar. And he gave us this with pleasure. “People in the portraits by Saryan look like they are, don’t look like everyone and meanwhile they look like all people”, -this is written in the story about Saryan called “Portrait” written by Saroyan. Martiros Saryan always liked to say that the thing about geniuses is that they see beauty at once. That is why he liked painting so much because he could express this beauty by painting.
