Sculptor Lilitte Therian dies at 88

TEHRAN. (Iranart) – Iranian-Armenian sculptor Lilitte Therian, who is considered as the mother of modern Iranian sculpture, died on Thursday at the age of 88.

“I don’t know the exact cause of her death, but I know she fell down the stairs at her home about two weeks ago and hurt her pelvis,” director of the Association of Iranian Sculptors, Abbas Majidi, told the Persian service of ISNA.

The association plans to organize a memorial service for Therian this week, he added.

She studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Art at the University of Tehran and then left the country to continue her education in France.

In 1961, Therian returned home and began a career in teaching at the Faculty of Decorative Arts. She introduced modern sculpture to the academic centers in Iran and then established the Sculpture Department at the faculty.

She spent about 30 years teaching sculpture in various academic centers in Iran and many renowned Iranian sculptors learned the art at the centers.

A statue of the early medieval Armenian linguist, composer and theologian, Mesrop Mashtots, located at the Tarkmanchatz Church in Tehran, is one of her outstanding works.

She also created a bust of Yeprem Khan, an Iranian-Armenian revolutionary leader and a leading figure in the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, which is located at the Saint Mary Church in Tehran.

In February 2007, the Imam Ali Religious Arts Museum in Tehran honored Therian for her lifetime achievements.

“I draw inspiration from events and scenes that outwardly seem unimportant,” Therian once said in an interview.

“For example, I made my ‘Mother and Child’ based an idea that arose when I saw one of my relatives with her newborn baby. The mother held her baby in her arms and the scene inspired me to make the sculpture.”

Source: Tehran Times