Pencho Georgiev (Bulgarian: Пенчо Георгиев; 1 February 1900,
Vratsa
Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana.
...
– 2 April 1940,
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
) was a Bulgarian painter,
scenographer and illustrator, especially of children's books.
Biography
His father died in the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
when he was only twelve. After the end of World War I, he moved to Sofia to study arts and crafts. In 1925, he graduated from the
National Academy
A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with State (polity), state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but ...
with a degree in "Applied and Decorative Arts" and began working as a set designer.
[Brief biography](_blank)
@ OMDA. His first project was ''
The Queen of Spades'' by
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
at the
Sofia Opera. He stayed there for two years before moving on to the State Theater (known as the
Dohodno Zdanie
Dohodno Zdanie ( bg, Доходно здание; literally: "profitable building") is an imposing Neoclassical edifice on Freedom Square in the city centre of Rousse, Bulgaria, built in 1898–1902 to accommodate the local theatre performances. T ...
) in
Ruse
Ruse may refer to:
Places
*Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria
**Ruse Municipality
** Ruse Province
** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency
*Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia
* Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...
.
In 1929, he moved to Paris, where he copied the works of the
Old Masters while making woodcuts and etchings.
Later, he collaborated with the Russian painter
Konstantin Korovin
Konstantin Alekseyevich Korovin (russian: Константи́н Алексе́евич Коро́вин, first name often spelled Constantin; 11 September 1939) was a leading Russian Impressionist painter.
Biography
Youth and education
Konstan ...
to create set decorations for productions of several Russian operas. He remained in Paris until 1932.
Upon returning to Bulgaria, he began illustrating books and creating interior designs for homes, as well as working on a number of public projects, creating over thirty set decorations at the Opera and the
Ivan Vazov National Theatre
The Ivan Vazov National Theatre ( bg, Народен театър „Иван Вазов“, ') is Bulgaria's national theatre, as well as the oldest and most authoritative theatre in the country and one of the important landmarks of Sofia, the ...
.
His paintings were done mostly in
watercolor
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...
s and
pastels. His illustrations included some for the first works by
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
published in Bulgarian. He also participated in many exhibitions, including the
Salon d'Automne
The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The f ...
and the
Milan Triennale
The ''Milan Triennial'' (Triennale di Milano) is an art and design exhibition that takes place every three years at the Triennale di Milano Museum in Milan, Italy.
History
The exhibition was originally established in 1923 as a biennial architect ...
.
In 1940, while working on decorations for ''
Salammbô
''Salammbô'' (1862) is a historical novel by Gustave Flaubert. It is set in Carthage immediately before and during the Mercenary Revolt (241–237 BCE). Flaubert's principal source was Book I of the ''Histories'', written by the Greek hist ...
'' at the National Theater, he slipped and fell to his death down an elevator shaft on stage.
Selected works
Image:Pencho Georgiev Paris - rolling quarter.jpg , Temporary Encampment in Paris (1931)
Image:Pencho Georgiev All Souls' Day.jpg , All Soul's Day
All Souls' Day, also called ''The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed'', is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by certain Christian denominations on 2 November. Through prayer, intercessions, alms an ...
(1927)
Image:Pencho Georgiev Parisian neighborhood.jpg , Parisian Neighborhood (1931)
Image:Pencho Georgiev In front of the temple.jpg , In Front of the Mosque (1930s)
References
Further reading
* Alexander Zitsman: ''По дирите на Пенчо Георгиев'' (In the Footsteps of Pencho Georgiev), Black Flamingo Press (2013)
External links
Pencho Georgiev as an illustrator of children's books with examples @ Kultura.
110th Anniversary Exhibition in Ruse@
Darik News.
Audio biographyfrom the Sofia City Art Gallery @
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgiev, Pencho
1900 births
1940 deaths
Bulgarian illustrators
Bulgarian scenic designers
People from Vratsa
Deaths from falls
19th-century Bulgarian painters
19th-century male artists
20th-century Bulgarian painters
20th-century male artists
Male painters