Sattar Bahlulzade

Sattar Bahlulzade (Səttar Bəhlulzadə; 15 December 1909 – 14 October 1974) was an Azerbaijani painter, best known for his landscape paintings depicting the nature of Azerbaijan.

He is considered to be the founder of Azerbaijani Impressionism.

Sattar Bahlulzade was born on 15 December 1909 in the village of Amirjan near Baku.

He was the third child in the family after two elder sisters.

Sattar developed a love for painting in his early childhood.

After his father bought him colored pencils, Sattar drew everything around him - the Novruz holiday, Kos-kosa dances, children jumping over bonfires as part of the Novruz tradition, etc. Being surrounded by objects of folklore art - colorful carpets woven by his mother and grandmother, jewelry, as well as ceramics and copper dishes passed down from generation to generation - Sattar began to cultivate a love for art.

In one of his diaries, the artist wrote:

"Everything had its own special place in the house. Mother arranged the dishes like an artist. She folded the blankets and beddings in a way that the color schemes matched. For her, it was a work of art, it was beauty."

At school, Sattar was fond of the poems of Nizami Ganjavi, Vagif, and Khaqani, but most of all, he was inspired by the poetry of Fuzuli and the characters in his version of the famous poem Layla and Majnun.

He depicted these characters on the covers of his notebooks.

His teachers liked Sattar's work, one of them telling him, "there is only one path forward for you, Sattar, and that is to become an artist."

Bahlulzade's music teacher was the composer Muslim Magomayev, the grandfather of the iconic Soviet Azerbaijani singer Muslim Magomayev.

Sattar attended the National Art Institute in Baku starting in 1927.

After graduating in 1931, he began working with Azim Azimzade for the newspaper "Communist" as a graphic illustrator.

Bahlulzade worked in the editorial office for two years, during which his first works of art, cartoons, were published.

In 1933, began studying at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he became a student of Vladimir Favorsky.

It is at this Institute that Bahlulzade started showing interest in landscape painting.

His frequent summer trips to Crimea played an important role in developing his mastery of landscape art.

There, Bahlulzade realized that painting really was his true purpose and path in life.

After his return to Baku, Bahlulzade's work focused on the depictions of historic personalities and events.

Starting from the late 1940s, Bahlulzade started to create his most renowned works of art: The Bank of Qudyalchay, The Road to Gizbanovsha (1953), Golden Evenings (1955), Native Lands (1957), etc. In these landscapes, Bahlulzade satiated his color palette, achieving a colorful decorativeness in his displays.

Sattar Bahlulzade developed his work on both natural and industrial landscapes simultaneously.

This was not without a reason.

in 1941, he became a member of the Artists' Union of the USSR.

In the post-war years, Bahlulzade painted works depicting the oil fields, dachas, and villages of the Absheron Peninsula.

Bahlulzade's attraction to depictions of nature grew, and he started to paint more landscape sceneries.

Bahlulzade was known primarily for his landscape paintings dedicated to the nature of the Azerbaijan.

Frequently, he went out into nature to capture on canvas all its beauty.

Bahlulzade once said:

"I don't have to go to Tahiti, like Gauguin, for inspiration, and I do not advise others to do it. The life and land of your people - they are the true sources of inspiration."

Initially, the artist used a realistic approach to the portrayal of nature, as he was taught by his teachers.

However, Bahlulzade soon developed his own style, which helped him to better express his emotions in his depictions of nature.

His new style was actually more surreal and cosmic, with some of his works looking like satellite photographs of the Earth.

Combining pastels with bold colors and bold brushstrokes, Bahlulzade illustrated nature more colorfully and lively, at times including fantastic elements.

Among Bahlulzade's best-known works are Tears of Kapaz (1965), Bank of the Gudiyalchay (1953), Dream of the Land (1961), Evening Above the Caspian Sea (1959), and Goygol (1964).

His works have been featured in exhibitions in Azerbaijan, the Soviet Union, and other parts of the world.

The majority of Bahlulzade's body of work is preserved in the National Art Museum of Azerbaijan, where a special hall is dedicated to the artist.

Some of his paintings are also kept in museums in Moscow, Tbilisi, Beijing, etc.

Today, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of Azerbaijan, as well as a prominent figure in the history of Azerbaijani art in general.

He is the recipient of many awards, including two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour and People's Artist of Azerbaijan.