Sharambeyan’s travels across different regions of Armenia often found expression in landscapes and studies, where direct observation of nature intertwined with a sense of historical and cultural memory.
At the center of this painting stands the Amenaprkich (Holy Saviour) khachkar, located in the courtyard of the Mother See of Holy Ejmiadzin. Sharambeyan made the monument the compositional focus of the work: rising against a backdrop of trees and the monastery wall, the khachkar brings the natural and historical setting into a unified whole. Damaged and later restored, the monument acquires a symbolic resonance, embodying an Armenian culture that has endured adversity while remaining resilient and continuous.
The painting was created in 1969 and exhibited that same year at the Hermitage Museum as part of a joint exhibition by Grigor Khanjyan and Hovhannes Sharambeyan dedicated to the centenary of the great Armenian musicologist and composer Komitas