A noted public figure, illuminator, scribe, and prominent poet of the sixteenth century.  The Madenataran displays five manuscripts copied and illustrated by Zakaria (MSS 5089, 6544, 4831, 1613, 5472).  Ostensibly the artist admires the decorative patterns in his attempt to impart them as much splendour as possible.  His miniatures, executed in exquisite lines and bedecked with pearl string patterns, breathe of profound lyrism.  Illustrations: 79, 80, 81

Artist Zakaria Gnunetsi, The Pentecost, Gospel, 1575, Van, MS 4831, 12b, size 26 x 18

A prominent and most productive miniaturist of Vaspourakan of the sixteenth century.  He lived and created in the ancient town of Baghesh (Bitlis).  The Madenataran owns five manuscripts illustrated by Vardan Baghishetsi (MSS 1920, 4845, 5434, 961, 9294).  The artist is gifted with a keen sense of colour, this gamut being made up of combinations and the subtle transference of blue, mustard yellow, orange, and transparent green. The miniature depicting "The Foundation of the Church" is of cognitive value because of the masons at work in the picture. Illustrations: 82, 83, 84, 85, 86

Artist Vartan Baghishetsi, Canon Table, Gospel, 1571, Baghesh, MS 4845, 10b, size 30 x 21

The Vaspourakan illuminators Martiros and his son Grigoris lived in the second half of the sixteenth and the start of the seventeenth centuries and worked together.  Five manuscripts illustrated by them are owned by the Madenataran (MSS 5576, 1378, 6093, 5234, 8934).  The characters devised by father and son are notable for their distinctive dramatism and inspiration.  Some deformation of figures, despite the tendency to shapeliness of the human body, lends them an expressive charm.  The colour amut of the miniatures is based on the combination of various paints, while the ornamental patterns are  markedly diverse and splendid.  Illustration: 87

Artist Martiros and His Son Grigoris, The Wise and Foolish Virgins, The Last Judgement, Gospel, 1604, Khizan, MS 6093, 25b-26a, size 20 x 14

He lived and worked at the end of the sixteenth century.  Son of Mourat and Hripsime.  He learned to paint from his relatives who were all involved in the art of copying and illuminating manuscripts.  The Yerevan Madenataran possesses three of his manuscripts (MSS 5579, 5437, 4681).  The skill of drawing and the type of figures, especially with the gamma of the blue, the ultramarine, and the green together with the brightness of gold, make us think that he knew quite well not only the miniature painting of Cilicia, but also that of Europe, and especially the monuments of Gothic art.  Illustration: 88

Artist Khachatur Khizantsi (of Khizan), Adam's Paradise, Gospel, 1591, Kanants Monastery, MS 5437, 11a, size 25 x 18

The artist who lived at the end of the sixteenth and the start of the seventeenth centuries, is also renowned as a skillful scribe and binder.  His memoranda contain particulars about his family and relatives; he father Ter-Hovhannes, his mother Julal Khatoun, his wife Saymin and others. The Madenataran displays eight manuscripts of this author (MSS 6503, 5507, 5794, 2804, 10220, 4101, 7455, 5345). Zakaria was the pupil of the celebrated artist Hakob Jughayetsi and had his disciples, in turn. The expressive means and devices of his art seem to overstep the canonized framework of book illustration.  Preserving old local traditions, especially flat interpretation and the ordinary shape of patterns, Zakaria introduced novel trends in compositional solutions which are always executed on a broad scope and profound feeling, though they seem unusual at times.  Illustrations: 89, 90, 91

Artist Zakaria Avantsi (of Avants), The Creation of Eve, Gospel, 1595, Avants Desert, MS 2804, 8b, size 25 x 18

A pupil of Vardan Baghishetsi, he won distinction also as a skilled scribe who taught the art of writing and book illustration to his son Hovhannes.  Stored in the Madenataran are eight manuscripts illuminated by Sarkis Khizantsi (MSS 7487, 5344, 7132, 8578, 5111, 6420, 4721, 5194).  The colourful interpretation of human figures coupled with the delicate patterning of the background, confer on the works of the artist a festive spring mood.  Illustrations: 92, 93, 94

Artist Sarkis Khizantsi, Adam and Eve in Paradise and Expelled, Gospel, 1604, Khizan, MS 6420, 28a, size 25 x 17.5

He lived and worked at the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth century.  He was from Khizan. His father's name was Ter-Martiros, his mother was called Khandi.  He liked to travel much.  Besides Armenia, he has also been to the neighbouring countries, communicating with the art of other peoples, which is quite visible in his miniatures.  The Yerevan Madenataran possesses six manuscripts copied by Mesrop.  They are MSS 6785, 3598, 146, 222, 294, 6320.  From the traditions of national painting, only the echoes of the magnificence of colours of Cilcian miniatures can be discerned in Mesrop's paintings.  He tried mainly to imitate European models and especially the German engravings of the seventeenth century. Illustrations: 95, 96

Artist Mesrop, The Removal of Christ From the Cross and Weeping Over Him, Gospel, 1607, Khizan-Spahan, MS 6785, 21b-22a, size 13.5 x 9