Vardan Avetisov was the founder of ‘Avetisov Brothers’ studio – the most famous photographic establishment in pre-Soviet Akhaltskha – where he worked together with his younger brother Grigor (1885-1915).(1)

The studio was founded at the end of the 1890s and remained open until the end of the 1920s. The brothers also had branch of their pavilion in the resort town of Borjomi.

Avetisovs’ studio photographs conform to the aesthetic and social demands of time. These are prototypical, individual or group portraits that customers commissioned commanding primarily for personal use. Today, these images are significant as material for ethnographic, since the ethnic dress and cultural customs of Akhaltskha’s Armenian community have been abundantly preserved in numerous photographs made by the Avetisovs. It is worth noting that the photographers also created photographs that depict their hometown, some of which were published as postcards.

1) Vahan Kochar, Hay Lusankarichner [in Armenian], self-published, 2007, pp.84-89

Vigen Galstyan, 2016