Stanislav Dospevski ( bg, Станислав Доспевски) is the name assumed by Zafir Zograf (Зафир Зограф), the son of

Dimitar Zograf Dimitar Hristov ( bg, Димитър Христов), better known as Dimitar Zograf (Димитър Зограф) (1796–1860), was a noted 19th-century Bulgarian painter known for his icons. Born in Samokov to the family of Hristo Dimitrov, t ...

and nephew of the famed Bulgarian icon and mural painter,

Zahari Zograf Zahariy Hristovich Dimitrov ( bg, Захарий Христович Димитров) (1810–1853), better known as Zahari Zograf (or Zahariy Zograf; Захари(й) Зограф) is a famous Bulgarian painter of the Bulgarian National Revival, ...

. He is a notable representative of the

Samokov Samokov ( bg, Самоков ) is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in a basin between the mountains Rila and Vitosha, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due to the suitable winter sports conditions, Sam ...

artistic school and one of the most important painters and icon-painters of the

Bulgarian Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...

. Dospevski is one of the first Bulgarians to have received academic artistic training.

Biography

Stanislav Dospevski was born on 3 December 1823 in Samokov. He began his training in his native town, Samokov, and then continued his education in Plovdiv. From an early age he had been helping his father in his icon painting for the Plovdiv church of Sveta Nedelya (St Nedelya), thus acquiring early artistic experience. In 1850 Dospevski went to

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 ...

, where he started his studies the

Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (russian: Московское училище живописи, ваяния и зодчества, МУЖВЗ) also known by the acronym MUZHZV, was one of the largest educational insti ...

, and later from 1853 to 1856 he studied at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the T ...

in St Petersburg in

Fyodor Bruni Fyodor (Fidelio) Antonovich Bruni (Russian: Фёдор Антонович Бруни; 10 June 1799, in Milan – 30 August 1875, in Saint Petersburg) was a Russian artist of Italian descent who worked in the Academic style. Biography His ...

’s class. After his return to Bulgaria he took on the name of Dospevski and became a pioneer of the secular realistic portrait in Bulgarian art. He lived in

Pazardzhik Pazardzhik ( bg, Пазарджик ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality. The Tatars founded Pazardzhik i ...

and Samokov, but continued to paint in Plovdiv. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 he was arrested by the Ottoman government. He died in prison in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

on 6 January 1878. One of the elementary schools in Samokov, NU “Stanislav Dospevski”, bears his name. The great-granddaughter of Stanislav Dospevski is the translator Neli Dospevska.

Gallery

File:BASA-1510K-1-1507-84-Stanislav Dospevski painting.jpg, Portrait of Катерина Захари Зографска File:BASA-1510K-1-1507-83-Stanislav Dospevski painting.jpg, Portrait of Елисавета В. Чалъкова File:BASA-1510K-1-1507-69-Stanislav Dospevski painting.jpg,

References

* Захариев, В. ''Станислав Доспевски''. София, 1971. * Рошковска, А. ''Станислав Доспевски''. Ст. Загора, 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dospevski, Stanislav 1823 births 1878 deaths People from Samokov 19th-century Bulgarian people Prisoners who died in Ottoman detention Bulgarian people who died in prison custody 19th-century Bulgarian painters 19th-century male artists Male painters Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni