Born on 17 December (December 29 New Style) 1884 in the town Jauk (according to other sources in Nakhchivan).
He studied fine arts in art class when the Caucasian Society for Encouragement of Fine Arts in Tiflis under the direction of Y. Tadevosyan. Then in 1916 he graduated from the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he studied with S. Ivanov, Konstantin Korovin and Alexander Arkhipov. Was exhibitor in Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions.
In 1920, Arakelyan returned to Armenia and was involved in the cultural life of the country. Here he engaged in creative work and social activities - organized by the Society of Fine Artists, which was the first artistic association in the Soviet Armenia. In five years, this society sided with the Armenian branch of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia. In parallel with the social activities he conducted Arakelyan and teaching - he taught at the Yerevan Art and Industrial College.
Honored Artist of the Armenian SSR (1935).
Died March 6, 1942 in Yerevan.
