Despite his studio’s great popularity,biographical details regarding Joseph Mirakyan have not surfaced at this point.(1) Mirakyan's French-language seals define him as a master of ‘art photography’. In this instance, this formulation seems to be not without merit. His expressive portraits, regardless of the sitter’s physical traits, are made with an aesthetically measured aplomb and are marked by a search for a particular emotional tone and atmosphere. Mirakyan often preferred to print his photographs in a round or oval format, which gives them a compositionally elegant structure. This is typical of the Art Nouveau style in the 1900s, that became widely-spread in European, as well as Tiflisian photography studios. The photographer's clientele was made up mostly of the local bourgeoisie and intellectual circles.

1) We’ve used Mirakyan’s dates of birth and death noted on the website of Tbilisi’s Museum of Photography: http://www.photomuseum.org.ge/photographers/mirakian/mirakian_en.htm

Vigen Galstyan, 2016