March 2024

Location

PAINTING MUSEUM

Bayil District (National Flag Square) Baku, Azerbaijan, AZ1003

view map

OPENING HOURS
Tuesday – Sunday:
12 am > 8 pm

CONTACT

+99412 505 1414

E-MAIL

info@yarat.az

View map

PAINTING MUSEUM: LABOUR, LEISURE AND DREAMS – 1960S-1980S THROUGH THE EYES OF AZERBAIJANI MASTERS

26 May - 13 Jan 19

YARAT Contemporary Art Space, a not-for-profit non-governmental contemporary art organization in Baku, for the first time presents an exhibition of works by leading Azerbaijani painters Mikayil Abdullayev, Rasim Babayev, Sattar Bahlulzade, Gennady Brijatyuk, Nadir Abdurahmanov, Kamal Ahmed, Ujal Hagverdiyev, Igor Zhuk, Javad Mirjavadov, Boyukagha Mirzazade, Ashraf Murad, Toghrul Narimanbekov, Nadir Gasimov, Eldar Gurban, Maral Rahmanzade, Altay Sadigzade, Ogtay Sadigzade, Tahir Salahov, Khalida Safarova, Mahmud Taghiyev, Taghi Taghiyev, Farhad Khalilov, Gayyur Yunus at the Museum of XX-XXI Century Azerbaijani Painting. 


VIRTUAL TOUR

This exhibition brings together works by leading Azerbaijani painters who together defined a key period in Azeri Soviet art. After the death of Stalin in 1953, there was a new wave of freedom of expression across the Soviet Union and the artists were the first to benefit. Having been suddenly exposed to two pivotal shows of the time, the 1956 Picasso exhibition at the Pushkin Museum and the American National Exhibition in 1958, which for the first time showed works by Abstract Expressionists to the Soviet public, the new generation of Azeri artists heralded a new direction in painting. Away from the dogmatic prescriptions of Socialist Realism they developed their own distinct styles, unique in terms of their use of bright color, daring subject matter, bold brushstrokes, heavy impasto, and adoption of folklore elements. 

While some artists, such as Tahir Salahov, pushed the technique of Realism, to add more expressive lines and emotive renderings, forming the famous Severe Style, others abandoned it altogether. Led by Mirjavad Mirjavadov they adopted a bold palette and a heavily layered technique both in form and content. Often adding basic, earthly materials to their works these artists, who together founded the Absheron School of Colourists, used a language often borrowed from Oriental symbolism and folk-tales to express their discontent with the status quo. Still others, such as Boyukagha Mirzazade and Maral Rahmanzade, perfected their technique of realistic depictions of the changing lifestyle around them portraying a new era of openness and progress.

How does one navigate such distinct styles and worldviews? What brings together such different artists as Sattar Bahlulzade and Toghrul Narimanbekov? This exhibition follows three popular themes largely preoccupying Azerbaijani painters in the period between the thaw of 1960s up until the perestroika at the end of 1980s. Labour, Leisure and Dreams suggests an existence structured by the Soviet realities, yet deconstructed, repurposed and re-imagined through art. It proposes a new vantage point to view, analyse and appreciate the masters of the Golden Period in Azerbaijani painting of the 20th century. It is an invitation to momentarily enter the world that they inhabited and to envision the ideas and fantasies that moved them.


Curator: Suad Garayeva-Maleki

Research: Farah Alakbarli


About the Museum of Azerbaijani Painting of the XX-XXI Centuries

Situated near YARAT Centre (near the National Flag Square) the Museum of XX-XXI Century Azerbaijani Painting was founded by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. The Museum was inaugurated in June 2015 by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev and the First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. It presents works by both prominent and lesser-known Azerbaijani painters from State Collections, such as the National Picture Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art. From 2018 onwards YARAT was commissioned to present a series of exhibitions with the works from the collection and to organize a public programme of events running throughout the year. 


Notes to editors:

Exhibition: Labour, Leisure And Dreams: 1960s-1980s Through The Eyes Of Azerbaijani Masters

Location: Museum of Azerbaijani Painting of the XX-XXI Centuries, Bayil, AZ1003

Dates: 26 May 2018 – 13 January 2019

Exhibition opens: Tuesday through Sunday, from 11:00 – 20:00.

Admission is free

 


ARTISTS BIOS: 

Mikayil Abdullayev (1921-2002) is one of the most significant figures in Azerbaijan's Soviet art history.

His painting ''Builders of happiness” (1951) is considered as a key work of Social Realism in the Azerbaijani SSR art history. The artist uses a monumental formal language, his figures are illuminated with light, and the range of color is very shiny and colorful and obeys to the whole idea of the artwork. Examples of his works are “June of 41st”(1964-1965), “Lights of Mingachevir” (1948), “Happiness”(1957), “On Kura's shore”(1954) among others. He created a series of portraits including personalities such as “M.Gorkiy in 1928 in Baku”, “Uzeyir Gajibekov” (1943), “Samed Vurgun” (1944), “I.Nasimi” (1960s), “F.Badalbeyli” (1977). In his role as a monumental artist, he worked on mosaics dedicated to Nizami Ganjevi's “Khams”, which demonstrates different chapters of the poem decorating the walls of the metro station named after the poet. 

Abdullayev's art was closely related to literature making a significant contribution to the development of book graphics. The artist illustrated pieces by Nizami, Fizuli, Vagif, M.F.Akhundov, M.A.Sabir, J.Jabbarly and R.Rza. As a result of his travels to India, Afghanistan, Poland and Italy he created a series of large scale paintings. He was nominated as People's Artist of former USSR and a laureate of Azerbaijan SSR National Prize.


Rasim Babayev (1927-2007) is considered to be on of the most influential artists of the Absheron art school. 

In the 1950s-1960s Rasim Babayev mainly worked in the medium of lithography, linocut and book illustrations. His graphics such as “Black city”, “On Dashkesan's roads”, “Worker's portrait”, “In Germany”, “Qobustan”, “Camels”, “Gachaq Nabi”, “Old Baku” talk about the potential of protest. The artist continued later with oil painting featuring a colorful and new world of dreams. He is one the most significant artists and one of the founders of the Absheron art school with a very particular style of painting. He was considered as an underground and non-conformist artist during the Soviet period working outside the ideological frames. Starting from early years' period Babayev tried to challenge the viewer. His works of the mature are based on ideas of heritage, local folklore and fight between good and evil, light and darkness. His inner protest to the world is reflected in the big scale of his paintings full of chaos. Babayev compares situations, motifs from different religions and cultures, giving his own interpretation to them. 

Rasim Babayev was honored People's Artist of Azerbaijan. His works are located permanent collections in Azerbaijan and abroad.


Sattar Bahlulzade (1909-1974) started his path as a realist artist, particularly working in historical, portrait and landscape genres. Later, he focused his mind on landscape genre and developed his own style to express emotions reflecting his vision of a fantastic and surreal world. His lyrical landscapes contain a very strong poetic spirit being very colorful and full of details. 

Bahlulzade's graphic works demonstrate his excellence in lines and traits, first using ink, later moving to pen. As travelling and exploring Azerbaijan was his passion, he obtained the biggest inspiration mainly from nature and people who he met. His masterpieces, such as “Tears of Kapaz” (1967), “Bazarduzu Outskirts” (1962), “Gudiyalchay valley” (1953), “Spring of my Native Land” (1967), “Way to Giz-Benovshe” (1953) depict the most beautiful places of Azerbaijan. When in 1964, his solo exhibition was organized in Prague it became the very first exhibition of Azerbaijani artist in Europe. 

Sattar Bahlulzade was honored People's Artist of Azerbaijan SSR, laureate of State Prize of Azerbaijan SSR.


Gennady Brijatuk (1935-2008) is a representative of Azerbaijani avant-garde of the Soviet and Post-Soviet periods. His early works, inspired by the traditional local arts, were more realistic and decorative. Later Brijatuk synthesized Western influences with local traditions to establish his own style. He experimented with different genres, and became known for his semi-abstract landscapes paintings, rendered in soft palette with large blocks of washed over color as if seen through the blinding rays of Absheron sun. In his late paintings, he started adding extraneous materials such as sand and ground on the canvas in a move towards the next wave in Azeri painting, characterized by textured build-up of its layers.

Gennady Brijatuk was an Honored Artist of Azerbaijan and a member of Artists Union.


Nadir Abdurahmanov (1925-2008) first artistic breakthrough happened in 1944 with the painting entitled “Refugees” reflecting the postwar situation. Starting from an early period of his career, Abdurahmanov created relatively large scaled thematic paintings full of lyrism, rich of colorism and decorative value. His interest in the historical revolution period of Azerbaijan contrasts with the contemporary life and industrialization of the country. As a result of his researches he created the works “Arrest of 26 Baku commissars” (1953), “Lenin's word” (1953), “Sad news” (1958), “Industrial landscape” (1954), “On the plain” (1957), “Morning in the mountains” (1957) making him one of the most significant figures within the style of Azerbaijani Soviet Art. Simultaneously, in 1960s he explored the theme of labor expressed in a monumental language exemplified in “Builders of Ali-Bayramli GES” and “Builders of Seven years”.

Nadir Abdurahmanov was Honored Artist of Azerbaijan SSR, later People's Artist of Azerbaijan, laureate of the National Prize.  


Kamal Ahmed (1940-1994) is an Azerbaijani artist, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. 

Prominent Azerbaijani poet Samad Vurgun promised to the artist a great future when he was a young boy. Ahmed carried all complexities and difficulties of the war period through his childhood and later expressed them in his art. Since the period when he was a student, Ahmed fought with accepted traditions of the dominant art school, staying true to himself and refusing to paint portraits of Soviet leaders. 

Ahmed considered Sattar Bahlulzade and Javad Mirjavadov to be his mentors. He became one of the key figures of the Absheron School with painting, which was heavily influenced by poetry, Eastern philosophy and symbolism. As a protest against existing ideology his art was closely linked to national and folk heritage of Azerbaijan. A turning moment of his career came in 1980 when the artist got married as female figures started appearing in his work leading to one of his most significant masterpieces – “Family” (1980). 

Kamal Ahmed gained recognition in USSR only after the 80s. He won the 1st prize in Republic art competitions (Exhibition of Soviet Artists, Moscow, Russia. 1988; I Biennial of Caspian Republics, Baku, Azerbaijan. 1989; Exhibition dedicated to Novruz, Baku, Azerbaijan. 1993) and finally he was among of the eight selected Soviet artists in Italy, (Exhibition of Soviet Artists. Musei Civici di Villa Mirabello, Vareze, Italy. 1989) where he got the highest recognition.


Ujal Hagverdiyev (1960-2004) belongs to the representatives of the Hagverdiyev family of artists. 

He spent his boyhood in conversation with Rasim Babayev, Ashraf Murad, Sanan Gurbanov and Kamal Ahmed, whom he considered as a mentor after the death of his father Hasan Hagverdiyev. Ujal's artistic career started in the 1970-s. He was fascinated by the Italian Renaissance, furthermore by art styles of Modernism such as Fauvism and Neo-impressionism as well as by the “Qajar” art school. His works are exalted with rich narratives not fitting into a particular frame of genres. Ujal gathered traits from the world's art history creating his own visual language characterized by an interest to particular details, soft color transitions and stylized figures. His paintings talk about Eastern philosophy, believes in religion, imagination and dreams. 

The most significant part of his oeuvre is dedicated to Biblical stories such as “Madonna”, “St. Iyeronim”, “Running to Egypt”, “Magical garden”. Works such as the “Eastern beauties” series demonstrates his interest to local particularities. He is the author of the wall paintings of the Arkhangel Mikayil's Church in Baku spending five years of his life, however was not able to finish it before he passed away in 2004.


Igor Zhuk (1927-1995) belongs to the representatives of realistic painting in the art history of Azerbaijan. 

After graduation from Fine Arts Academy named after I.Repin, Igor Zhuk worked at the Saratov Cathedral as a conservator. At the same time he painted icons. For his cosmopolitanism and impressionistic ideas he was expelled from Academy, where he studied in the class of Igor Grabar.

Using an impressionistic language were his major achievements in pushing the genre of realistic paintings forward. Zhuk was known for his free manner in painting littered with light and a passion to work on plain-air. His series of portraits were mainly dedicated to the labor class. Working as a painter during the Soviet period he expressed his own vision within the frames of Social Realism.


Javad Mirjavadov (1923-1992) is one of the founders of Azerbaijani avant-garde and the movement known as Absheron School.

Time that he spent at the Hermitage museum as a worker became the real-life university for him. After his return to Baku, he spent the next 10 years working and experimenting at his dacha in Buzovna, a village on Absheron peninsula. There he gathered around him a range of diverse artists and intellectuals, who shared his ideas on the future development of art and together they formed the Absheron School. The “Absheronians” were very diverse in their creativity, but what united all of them was the desire to create outside of the Socialist Realist norms. Mirjavadov refused art as a tool for propaganda and became the first in the list of non-conformist artists. His first work was made only in 1967 with the telling title- Predator. It was an allegoric painting commenting on Soviet society and control structures that surrounded it.

Mirjavadov's painting style is highly expressive and emotional. His paintings are heavily textured with layers of impasto. In his practice color is the foundation of meaning with bold, contrasting brush strokes coming together into a distinct symbolism. His paintings masterfully appropriate and bring together national folklore and elements of design, Oriental mythology, Eastern philosophy, and Absheron lifestyle. Rich with satire, allegory and protest, Mirjavadov's works became the epitomes of Azerbaijani avant-garde, influencing generations of artists after him.


Boyukagha Mirzazade (1921-2007) is one of the most acclaimed Azerbaijani artists of the Soviet period. 

He became famous in 1950s-60s in the period of flourishing Social Realism continuing traditions of the Russian Art school and adding particular elements of local environment and culture. A significant part of Mirzazade's oevre is dedicated to labor; he depicted farmers and workers of the collectivist system reflecting on Soviet ideology in compositions full of light and colors of the South. His series of portraits captures famous and outstanding personalities of his time such as “Latif Karimov” (1975), “Sattar Bahlulzade” (1981), “Niyazi” (1951), and “Mirvari Dilbazi” (1953). Furthermore, the theme of oil as well as the industrial landscapes played an important part in his oevre. 

Mirzazade has been involved in creating theater stage design for pieces such as I.Efendiyev's “My fault”, Z.Baghirov's “Beggar son of millionaire”, S.Gurbanov's “Mother-in-low”.

Boyukagha Mirzazade is a People's Artist of Azerbaijan and laureate of “Shohrat” medal.


Ashraf Murad (1925 – 1979) is one of the most mysterious artists in Azerbaijan art history. He is one of the few artists who excellently possess skills of classic Russian art school. He was one of the most in-demand artists and his works were a manifestation of picture perfect happy socialist realism in the beginning of career. He cardinally changed his style after a life event in the beginning of 1960s…

Paintings littered with light and love of life now became melancholic and somber. He was one of the few non-conformist artists of the Soviet period who was not bound by the frames of socialist realism. His paintings were much more than portraits of Lenin, Stalin, Tereshkova, workers and farmers. They stand as a protest to ideology, society and its foundations and represent humans through a dark prism of flaw and tragedy and his personal boredom with Soviet lifestyle. Monumental, laconic and bright these portraits always emerge from thickly layered backgrounds of paint – itself a formal cue to the psychology behind Murad's art.  

An unusual adherent of the Absheron school, the artist painted a little more than 50 paintings during a 20-year career. Art historian Grigoriy Anisimov made a big contribution to popularization of Ashraf Murad's art and his first posthumous exhibition was held in 1984 in Baku.


Toghrul Narimanbekov (1930-2013) is recognized as one the first modern artists of Azerbaijan. 

He is well known for his paintings, theatre decorations, monumental wall paintings as well as an opera singer. 

Narimanbekov's paintings create a celebrative atmosphere talking about Azerbaijan trough the most recognizable symbols such as pomegranate, national musical instruments, teapots, architectural monuments, national metal products. His painting style can be described as decorative and highly emotional with a tense coloristic rhythm. Narimanbekov himself understands his artistic approach as a combination of figurative and abstract features. His favorite manner was adding a self-portrait to the paintings taking the position of an observer or someone who tries to create a dialog with the viewer. He is one of the authors of the wall paintings in Puppet Theatre named after A.Shaig in Baku and the lobby of former hotel “Moscow” in Baku. He created theatre decorations for F.Garayev's “Shadows of Gobustan” ballet and for F.Amirov's “1001 Night”. 

Togrul Narimanbekov was a “People's Artist of Azerbaijan”, a “People's Artist of former USSR”, laureate of National Prize of USSR and a member of former USSR Artists Union.  He was honored with the medals “Istiglal” and “Sharaf”.


Nadir Gasimov (1928-2000) belongs to the compelling artists in Azerbaijani art history. 

Nadir Gasimov started as a portrait painter creating images of the time's most famous people such as Bulbul, Marziyya Davudova, Gulbala Aliyev, Suleyman Rustam. His works are well known for his psychological portraits since he has been working for weeks and in close conversation with the represented person. Gasimov is also well respected for his industrial marine landscapes among others the Caspian sea that was an important element for him. Within the marine thematic, he raised attention to hard labor of the oilmen and their difficult lifestyle on the Oil Rocks. 

Nadir Gasimov is a People's Artist of Azerbaijan.


Eldar Gurban (b. 1948) is one of the few artists representing the style of primitivism within the Azerbaijani art scene. 

Eldar Gurban started his artistic career in the 1970s and has been widely exhibited in Azerbaijan as well as abroad. His style relates to French primitivism in visual expression, content wise it is linked to local environment and its particularities, it talks about beauty in different languages combining reality and dreams of his world. Gurban's portraits depict mainly beautiful women of Azerbaijan. His style influenced many representatives of a younger generation.

Eldar Gurban is Honored Artist of Azerbaijan, member of Artists Union of Azerbaijan.


Maral Rahmanzade (1916-2008) is one of the first female Azerbaijani artists who obtained a professional artistic education. 

Maral Rahmanzade started her career as a graphic artist creating posters with patriotic content during the years of the Great Patriotic War. She continued with illustrations for Khatai's “Dakhname”, J.Jabbarly's “Guzar” and “Maiden Tower”, M.S.Ordubadi's “Knife and pen”, A.Zograbbekov's “The Land of Fire”. Maral Rahmanzade was the first artist who went to work on the "Oil rocks” observing the oilmen's working days, their everyday life resulting into a series of graphic works, in which she experimented with the medium of linocut, engraving, watercolor and mixed media. These works are dedicated to the great labor of the hardworking oilmen and are considered to be milestones of Azerbaijani graphic art. 

Rahmanzade became also famous for her paintings with industrial and mountain views. She depicted constructions of the gigantic factories in Sumgayit and Rustavi as well as documented her travels to the highest parts of Azerbaijan in her prominent “Khinaliq” series. Maral Rahmanzade was a People's artist of Azerbaijan USSR, Laureate of National Prize of Azerbaijan USSR.


Altay Sadigzade (b.1951) is considered to be one of the most significant representatives of the Azerbaijani avant-garde movement. Altay Sadigzade was born into a family of artists, which was his first source of inspiration. Later he continued his studies in the Moscow State Art Institute named after I. Surikov. His early paintings follow the Western Europe canon, however, relate also to traditions of the Russian Art School at the beginning of the 20th century. 

Sadigzade had an experimental approach working in the medium of painting, large-scale sculptures and installations combining non-combinable visual material and creating a universe of his dreams and thoughts. Across the different periods of his oeuvre his palette ranged from wild, vivid to dark and shaded colors. Sadigzade's installations and sculptural compositions are characterized by monumental playing with forms, lines and bright colored shapes.


Ogtay Sadigzade (1921-2014) is considered to be one of the first aristocratic painters in the history of Azerbaijani art. 

After his repression in 1946, Ogtai Sadigzade started his career as a graphic artist. He illustrated the books of Onore de Balzak, Victor Hugo, Ivan Turgenev, Maksim Gorkiy, M.F. Akhundov, H.Javid, J.Jabbarly and others. Ogtay Sadigzade played a particular role in the development of realistic Azerbaijani art. Characteristical features of his works are a classical composition, accurately depicted images, and excellent coloristic skills whilst combing tradition of the Russian Realism with Western European classical elements working with Soviet subjects. 

Most of his work consists of portrait and story paintings. According to the requirements of the Soviet period, he focused on the depictions of workers. However, Sadigzade's workers reflect values of the Azeri family as pure mother love (“Lankaran girls” (1973) and “Collective farmer women” (1972)). Sadigzade is one of the authors of Azerbaijani portrait gallery with outstanding personalities among them a series of monumental paintings “Nizami and world culture” (1970s), portraits of Gatran Tabrizi and Khurshidbanu Natavan (1960s), biographical “Victims of 1937s repression” (1960s), triptych “Huseyn Javid” (1967). Ogtay Sadigzade belongs to the most admired portrait artists and graphic illustrators of Azerbaijani art history making a significant contribution to the development of Azerbaijani school of Realism. 

Ogtay Sadigzade received awards for his achievements as an Azerbaijani painter, he was honored as People's Artist, Laureate of National Prize of Azerbaijan, Medal “Shohrat”, Medal “Sharaf”.


Tahir Salahov (b.1928) is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in soviet Azerbaijan and during the period of Modernism. He is one of the most outstanding artists from the Khrushchev Thaw period and one of the founders of the “Sever style” in art. 

Already during his study at the I. Surikov Art Academy early works such as “Waves” (1955), “Overpass” (1955) and his diploma work “From Watch” (1957) raised the attention of specialists. Soon he became one of the most acclaimed artists of his period. His works range from portraits, landscapes, still lives, genre works to theatre decoration. He is the author of the portraits by G.Garayev (1960), F.Amirov (1973), D.Shestakovich (1987), M.Rastropovich (2000), M.A.Sabir (1962), M.Ibragimbekov (1995) among others. His art pieces dedicated to oil workers are particularly important within the development of Azerbaijani art. Salahov shows the difficult labor conditions of the oil field workers through portraits and industrial landscapes. Furthermore the Absheron peninsula as a subject matter continues throughout his oeuvre. Salahov's art is very specific in its visual language, on the one hand very heavy on the content level, on the other hand very soft in the choice of colors demonstrating traditions of academic style in combination with social realism. 

Tahir Salahov is an USSR Academic, “People's Artist” of former USSR, Hero of Socialist Labour, laureate of National Prize of former USSR and laureate of National Prize of Russian Federation.


Khalida Safarova (1926-2005) is considered to be one of the most talented Azerbaijani female artists.

Khalida Safarova's paintings can be viewed as psychological portraits of the author – her works are shiny and littered with bright colors expressing her optimistic nature. She chose cheerful moments for her works creating an environment of celebration. In the beginning of her career she mainly worked in genres as still life and landscape painting – for example the “Three oaks”, “Still life in the yard” or “Still life with the grapes”. In 1960-s, after her graduation from Moscow Art University named after I.Surikov she included new subjects. Sports became one of the most significant and recognizable theme in Safarova's works depicting football matches, bicycle rides or rowing. The compositions are characterized by the power of diagonals giving more dynamics to the sceneries, furthermore she used separated fragments based on methods from cinematography. She explored topics such as the will to win, fresh spirit of rivalry and persistence. As a result of her travel to France, Safarova created a series of paintings in the style of French impressionists. Khalida Safarova is a People's Artist of Azerbaijan.


Mahmud Taghiyev (1923-2001) is an artist of the Soviet period who worked in a creative collective with his wife, the artist Khalida Safarova. 

Mahmud Taghiyev was active as an artist during the period of the flourishing social realism. Still live and landscape paintings belonged to the main subjects of Taghiyev's early oeuvre. Starting from the 1960s he explored themes of industrial and rural labor. The artist combined features of the Russian school academism with methods of the plain air painting style, which played a very crucial role in his artistic language. Taghiyev depicted key moments of the building process of some of the most important Soviet constructions in Azerbaijan, such as the Mingachevir dam and the aluminum factory in Sumgayit. During these years, he continued exploring portrait, delving especially into the historical portrait genre. The artist couple were travelling across Azerbaijan collecting material for future works. His painting technique can be described as tender and monumental at the same time using soft colors with a strong composition construction. He was widely exhibited in Azerbaijan and abroad.


Taghi Taghiyev (1917-1993) was one of the most significant portraitist in Azerbaijan art. His portraits of Koroghlu, Sattar Bahlulzade, Kamil Khanlarov, Before Examination, Maral Rahmanzade, and Self-portrait with Carpet in a period of 1935–1947 are considered masterpieces of the Golden Period. Being depictions of real people, these portraits draw a psychological landscape of a generation. Taghiyev worked in the tradition of a classical Russian art school of the early 19th century. His palette was bright and bold and his figures monumental in spirit. 

Besides the portraiture, he is also known for still life and thematic paintings. In these genres, the artist highlighted the beauty of his native country and Eastern motifs. Taghi Taghiyev was honored the Azerbaijan SSR People’s Artist in 1982.


Farhad Khalilov (b. 1946) belongs to the representatives following the traditions of the Absheron School significally contributing to the development of Post-Soviet avant-garde landscape genre in Azerbaijan. All of his creations are dedicated to the Absheron peninsula. Its motifs take an important place in the creativity of the artist – he depicts beaches, views and population aggregates of the Absheron, old summer cottages, forgotten places among others. His formal language characterized by laconic and stylized forms based on contrasts, a very warm range of colors and compositions that remind photography were extraordinary at the time of the Soviet Union. He incorporated international modern art tendencies into his own creation. 

Farhad Khalilov is People's Artist of Azerbaijan, chairman of Azerbaijan Artists Union. He received the “Shohrat” Medal for his merits in development of Azerbaijani art.


Gayyur Yunus (b. 1948) belongs to the most interesting artists approaching topics related to historical heritage of Azerbaijan. 

In the early 1970s, Gayyur began his way as an artist soon developing his own artistic idom. His paintings talk about deep values of civilization giving links to cultural and historical heritage of Azerbaijan. He explores topics such as Sufism, Eastern philosophy, Islamic religion as well as family relationships. 

Gayyur continued and developed traditions of the so called “Qajar art school”, a style that prevailed in Southern Azerbaijan's portraiture and still life genre from the 18th until the 19th century. His main innovation within this style was to use women as subject matter, which has been considered as a very unusual approach during this period. The gallery of masterpieces features works by Gayyur such as “Leyli and Majnun”, “Light in desert”, “Way to the Mosque”, “Tabrizians”, “Gurban Bayramatter m”, “Eastern Women” among others. Gayyur Yunus is a People's Artist of Azerbaijan and laureate of the “Humay” prize.


Online tour through the Painting Museum by realtour.az.

Loading