Members of the Vernatun Literary Circle

The Vernatun (“Attic”) literary circle was founded in 1899 in Tiflis by the writer and poet Hovhannes Tumanyan (1869–1923). The circle existed for 9 years. According to the source, the best of today’s Armenian culture has its roots in Vernatun.

Its members included the composer Komitas, the poets Avetik Isahakyan, Hovhannes Tumanyan and Arshak Chopanyan, the writers Ghazaros Aghayan and Vrtanes Papazyan, and the painter Gevorg Bashinjaghyan.

The photograph shows seven men in dark clothes. Some sit around a small round table, the others stand behind them. Paintings can be seen in the background.