Tahir Salahov (
Azerbaijani, in full: , russian: Таир Теймур Салахов; 29 November 1928 – 21 May 2021) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
,
Azerbaijani painter and draughtsman. He was First Secretary of the
Artists' Union of the USSR
The Artists' Union of the USSR (russian: Союз художников СССР, translit=Soyuz khudozhnikov SSSR) was a creative union of the Soviet artists and art critics embracing the Republics of the Soviet Union, Republics of the Soviet Union ...
(1973–1992), Vice-President of the
Russian Academy of Arts
Russian Academy of Arts (RAKh / rus. РАХ, Росси́йская акаде́мия худо́жеств) is the State scientific Institution of Russian Federation, eligible heir to the USSR Academy of Arts. RAKh is the public cultural Instit ...
, member of over 20 academies and other creative organizations throughout the world, including academies of art of France, Spain, Germany, and Austria.
Biography
Salahov was born in
Baku. His father Teymur Salahov was a victim of
Stalin's repressions, having been arrested in 1937 and executed shortly after. His mother Sona was left to bring up four children on her own but the family did not learn of their father's death until 1956 after Stalin's death.
Tahir Salahov studied at the Azimzade Art College in Baku in 1945–1950 and the
Surikov Moscow Art Institute in 1951–1957. Salahov won an early recognition: his diploma work, ''The Shift is Over'', was exhibited in 1957 at the Moscow All-Union Art Exhibition and received public and critical acclaim. He became one of the leading representatives of the so-called "severe style"
(Russian: "суровый стиль"), a trend in
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
art of the 1960s that aimed to set off a hard, publicist, realist view against the ceremonial "polished reality" of the
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
era. Salahov's compositions on the life and work of the Baku oil-workers (e.g. "Repair Men", 1961,
Mustafayev Azerbaijan State Museum of Art, Baku) and portraits, e.g., his
portrait
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...
of Azerbaijani composer
Gara Garayev
Gara Abulfaz oghlu Garayev ( az, Qara Əbülfəz oğlu Qarayev, russian: Кара́ Абульфа́зович Кара́ев (Kara Abulfazovich Karayev), February 5, 1918 – May 13, 1982), also spelled as Qara Qarayev or Kara Karayev, was a pr ...
(1960,
Tretyakov Gallery
The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...
,
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
), and Soviet composer
Dmitri Shostakovich (1976,
Tretyakov Gallery
The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...
, Moscow), are characterized by a forcefulness and lack of idealization. Salahov chose a sparing palette of contrasting red, black, light- and dark-grey tones and gave colored plains a decorative function.
His later works are more peaceful and lyrically contemplative, and Eastern influences are more apparent, as in Portrait of Grandson Dan (1983, Azerbaijan State Museum of Art), in which the composition and colouring are subordinate to the flowing rhythms of Eastern medieval miniatures. His lines became smoother and more melodious, his palette more sophisticated. Many of his most successful works are associated with his impressions of foreign countries (e.g., Mexican
Corrida; 1969, Mustafayev Azerbaijan State Museum of Art). He also produced expressive drawings and stage designs. In 1998, Salahov was appointed an Academician of the
National Academy of Arts of the Kyrgyz Republic, alongside fellow artists
Durdy Bayramov,
Suhrob Kurbanov,
Turgunbai Sadykov, and
Erbolat Tolepbai.
Awards
*
Hero of Socialist Labour (1989)
*
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...
2nd class (2003)
*
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...
3rd class (1998)
*
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...
(1989)
*
Order of the October Revolution
The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...
(1976)
*
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
(1971)
*
Order of Friendship of Peoples
The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...
(1982)
*
People's Artist of the USSR (visual arts) (1973)
*
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
(1968 – for the portrait of composer Gara Garayev)
See also
*
House-Museum of Tahir Salahov
References
External links
Salahov’s paintings at AZgallery.org by Azad Sharifov and Jean Patterson in Azerbaijan International, Vol 7:2 (Summer 1999), pp. 51–54.]
Oil Rocks in the Caspian: Birthplace to a New Trend in Soviet Art" by Betty Blair in Azerbaijan International, Vol. 14:2 (Summer 2006), pp. 46–55
in Azerbaijan International, Vol. 13.4 (Winter 2005), pp. 80–87.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salahov, Tahir
1928 births
2021 deaths
20th-century Azerbaijani painters
20th-century male artists
21st-century Azerbaijani painters
21st-century male artists
Artists from Baku
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Eighth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Full Members of the Russian Academy of Arts
Full Members of the USSR Academy of Arts
Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Heroes of Socialist Labour
People's Artists of Russia (visual arts)
People's Artists of the USSR (visual arts)
Recipients of the Heydar Aliyev Order
Recipients of the Istiglal Order
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class
Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples
Recipients of the Order of Honor (Georgia)
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Recipients of the USSR State Prize
State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates
Azerbaijani emigrants to Russia
Azerbaijani portrait painters
Soviet painters
Burials at Alley of Honor