Armenian art is a unique form of expression that developed over the past five millennia, when the Armenian people lived in the Armenian Highland. Armenian architecture and miniature painting have been dominant in Armenian art and have shown consistent development throughout the centuries. Other forms of Armenian art include sculpture, fresco, mosaic, ceramics, metalwork, engraving, and textiles, with Armenian carpets being especially renowned.
Prehistoric Armenia was home to the Urartu culture during the Iron Age, notable for its early metal sculptures, often depicting animals. The region was frequently contested by large empires controlling nearby regions such as Persia, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia, all of which exerted considerable influence on Armenian art. The Armenians adopted Christianity very early on and developed their own version of Eastern Orthodox or Byzantine art, characterized by the extensive use of icons, Armenian miniatures in books, and the uniquely original Armenian architecture of their churches and monasteries.
A distinctive Armenian feature, which may have influenced Medieval art in Europe, was the early popularity of figurative relief carvings on the exterior of churches, a practice unknown in Byzantium. Armenian populations in Islamic regions were often large, and many Armenians specialized in arts and crafts such as carpet-weaving. Armenian painting traces its origins to ancient times, with an abundance of organic and inorganic pigments and a rich color palette enabling active participation in religious, applied, and artistic endeavors.
