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« February 2007 | Main | April 2007 »
Saying thus, he mounted, careered his horse.
His fiery steed took flight and sailed high,
In the heavens careered, defiantly—
Then downward came the lightning-laden sword.
Through forty hides of oxen did it pass,
Also through forty millstones did it pass,
Clear through the loathsome monster did it cleave,
Cut into his flesh seven feet deep.
“I am among the quick! Strike once again!”
Melik roared from deep within the well.
David heard, and was much astonished
At the blow he’d struck and his Lightning-Sword.
"Melik," he said, "do move about a bit."
And Melik made a stir within the well.
Right down the middle his body split,
One section falling here, another there.
The Egyptian soldiers, when they viewed that sight,
Terror-stricken, their blood to water turned.
from Hovhannes Tumanian: David of Sasun
The story goes that Ervand Kochar sculpted the model in 18 days before World War II. Kochar's subject was extremely symbolic. David of Sasun is a character from Armenian legend, a titanic warrior who liberated the Armenian people from the yoke of Egyptian oppression. During the Second World War, Kochar spent time in Soviet jails and was tortured. After 'the thaw', Kochar returned to Armenia from Paris and his David of Sasun was placed in the Yerevan Railway Station Square. It is a symbol of the Armenian national identity and of Yerevan.In my opinion, Kochar's David of Sasun is one of the greatest equestrian statues. It follows on from Da Vinci's Equestrian Statue and Verrocchio's Equestrian Statue of the condottiero Colleoni. Kochar's sculpture is amazingly expressive and dynamic - you can see and feel the movement from any perspective.
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 design by maciej sierpien & krzysztof bartkowski |
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