Bahruz Shirali bey oglu Kangarli ( az, Bəhruz Şirəlibəy oğlu Kəngərli; 22 January 1892, Nakhchivan – 7 February 1922, Nakhchivan) was an Azerbaijani painter and graphic artist. He was one of the first professional representatives of Azerbaijani visual arts and was the founder of realistic easel painting of Azerbaijan.
Biography
Bahruz Kangarli was born on 22 January 1892 in Nakhchivan. He was hard of hearing due to an illness as a child, which is why he could not attend a comprehensive secondary school and was instead homeschooled. In 1910, he went to
Tiflis
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
with the support of
Jalil Mammadguluzadeh
Jalil Huseyngulu oghlu Mammadguluzadeh ( az, Cəlil Məmmədquluzadə; 22 February 1869 – 4 January 1932), was an Azerbaijani people, Azerbaijani satirist and writer. He was the founder of Molla Nasraddin (magazine), ''Molla Nasraddin'', a ...
and entered the Tiflis School of Arts under the Society of Encouragement of Fine Arts, where Otto Schmerling and
Yeghishe Tadevosyan
Yeghishe Martirosi Tadevosyan ( hy, Եղիշե Մարտիրոսի Թադևոսյան; September 24, 1870 — January 22 1936) was a Soviet Armenian painter, associated with the Peredvizhniki and Mir Iskusstva movements. He was known for his lands ...
taught at that time. He painted portraits of Schmerling and his colleague
Lado Gudiashvili
Lado Gudiashvili ( ka, ლადო გუდიაშვილი; 30 March 1896 – 20 July 1980) was a Georgian artist of the 20th century. Gudiashvili was born into a family of a railroad employee. He studied in the Tbilisi school of sculp ...
while he studied there. Various satirical magazines published in Russia in the prerevolutionary period, especially ''
Molla Nasraddin
Nasreddin () or Nasreddin Hodja (other variants include: Mullah Nasreddin Hooja, Nasruddin Hodja, Mullah Nasruddin, Mullah Nasriddin, Khoja Nasriddin) (1208-1285) is a character in the folklore of the Muslim world from Arabia to Central Asia ...
'' magazine of
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
published Kangarli's works, next to caricatures by Schmerling and satirical paintings of
Azim Azimzade
Azim Aslan oghlu Azimzade ( az, Əzim Aslan oğlu Əzimzadə; 7 May 1880 – 15 June 1943) was an Azerbaijani artist and caricaturist. He was awarded the honorary title of People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR.
Biography
Azim Azimzade w ...
, whom Kangarli was inspired by. He returned to Nakhchivan after graduating from the School of Arts in 1916. The landscape genre took up a great place in his creativity. Kangarli's watercolor paintings depicting the nature of his native land include "Waterfall", "Agridag", "The road in Yakhshan village", "Ilanly mountain under the moonlight", "Russian church in Nakhchivan", "Before rising time of the Sun", and "Spring". Monuments of culture were portrayed in his landscapes "
Momine Khatun Mausoleum
Momine Khatun Mausoleum (or Mu'mine Khatun) is a 12th century mausoleum located in the city of Nakchivan in Azerbaijan.
The mausoleums of Nakhchivan were nominated for the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in 1998 by Gulnara Mehmandarova, the ...
", "Ashabi-kahf Mountain", and "Prophet
Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
's grave". Compositions "Matchmaking", "Wedding" and also artworks and costume sketches for the theatrical plays ''The Deadmen'' (by Jalil Mammadguluzade), ''Haji Gara'' (by
Mirza Fatali Akhundov
Mirza Fatali Akhundov ( az, Mirzə Fətəli Axundov; fa, میرزا فتحعلی آخوندزاده), also known as Mirza Fatali Akhundzade, or Mirza Fath-Ali Akhundzadeh (12 July 1812 – 9 March 1878), was a celebrated Azerbaijani author, pla ...
), ''Pari-jadu'' (by
Abdurrahim bey Hagverdiyev
Abdurrahim bey Asad bey oglu Hagverdiyev ( az, Əbdürrəhim bəy Haqverdiyev) (17 May 1870 – 11 December 1933) was an Azerbaijani playwright, writer and cultural figure, stage director, politician, public figure, one of the five first Azeri Dep ...
) and other plays staged in Nakhchivan are examples of
Azerbaijani art
Azerbaijani art ( az, Azərbaycan təsviri sənəti) is the art created by Azerbaijanis. They have created rich and distinctive art, a major part of which is applied art items. This form of art rooted in antiquity, is represented by a wide range ...
of the time.
Kangarli also created portraits of his contemporaries ("An old man", "A Georgian"), and a series of paintings called "Refugees" ("Refugee-lady", "Refugee-boy", "Refugee-woman", and "Homeless family").
Kangarli's album called "Memories of Nakhchivan" with his 20 landscapes is currently kept in the Azerbaijan State Museum of Art. He was known to hold exhibitions of his paintings in his own house, with free entrance.
Kangarli also drew portraits of
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
and
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels" '' Revcom's assistance, in 1921, in Azerbaijan. This exhibition was of great importance to him, and Kangarli donated one third of the money raised to an orphanage. Kangarli left an artistic legacy of more than 2000 artworks created during his short creative activity of seven years. On 22 May 2007 Kangarli's home-museum was established in Nakhchivan, and a monument was erected on his grave.
Gallery
Image:Bahruz Kengerli Nakhchivan.jpg, Memories of Nakhchivan ''(the 20th century)''
Image:Girl portrait.jpg, Girl's portrait ''(beginning of the 20th century)''
Image:Bahruz Kangarli - Qaçqın qadın.jpg, Refugee Woman ''(1920)''