THE MAKER OF HAPPINESS

The head office of Xalq Bank has hosted a presentation of a book about the life and creative work of Mikayil Abdullayev, a prominent painter and graphic artist, winner of the USSR State Award and the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, renowned art figure of Azerbaijan and People's Artist of the USSR. It was held as part of the Xalq Emaneti ("National Heritage") project.

The book has not just become the tenth stage of the Xalq Emaneti cultural project. It is a one-of-a-kind anniversary from two viewpoints: four years have passed since the project launched off. The project was launched by Xalq Bank OJSC in an effort to maintain and pass on to future generations the cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people. A team of numerous professionals became involved in the creative process. Art books were published and exhibitions organised, featuring works by national artists, including Boyukaga Mirzazada, Maral Rahmanzada, Sattar Bahlulzada, Xalida Safarova and Mahmud Tagiyev, Fazil Aliyev, Gennadiy Brizhatyuk, Rza Mammadov, and Qorkhmaz Sujaddinov; selected works by Mammad Araz, Huseyn Arif and Mikayil Musfiq, as well as the book "Coins of Azerbaijan" by prominent numismatologist, Prof. Ali Racabli, were released.

The books, which were published in three languages - Azerbaijani, English and Russian - are being presented free of charge to higher and secondary educational institutions, orphanages and libraries, foundations, public institutions, foreign representative offices in Azerbaijan, the country's embassies and consulates abroad, and are also distributed for free among Azerbaijani artloves.

History in landscape

The tenth edition under this project is dedicated to the life and creative work of People's Artist Mikayil Abdullayev (1921-2002). The art book includes reproductions of the best creations derived from the outstanding painter's tremendous heritage.

The landscapes and other well-known paintings by Abdullayev reflect the national and spiritual values, the ancient history of our nation and the unparalleled beauty of the Azerbaijani nature. The painter has also created portraits of many writers and art figures. He has made a significant contribution both to the monumental art and book graphics, having created numerous interior panel drawings and illustrations for the works by Azerbaijani classics.

The portraits painted by Abdullayev cover a large section of the new edition. It includes portraits depicting renowned men of culture, science and art, as well as a number of portraits of the painter's wife.

A separate section of the edition highlights the labor theme; it is known that Abdullayev devoted a lot of his paintings to workers, particularly peasants. He was fascinated by the everlasting beauty of rural nature (for example, this was reflected in "The Winter in Karabakh", a tender and subtle canvas), as well as the difficult but determinedwork of the people (the triptych "On the fields of Azerbaijan" is the most remarkable in this respect).

The painter placed a particular emphasis on women's images. Rural women were appealing to him due to their modesty and hard work, as well as kindness and generosity of their soul. He brilliantly reflected these human qualities in such paintings as "The passage of winter", "Rice-growing girls" and "A Lankaran woman". His widely acclaimed paintings such as "Joy", reflecting a peasant woman from Masalli with a child, or "Silk" with its dignified beauties, include some pieces that are also outstanding though not so well-known, which were included in the mentioned album as well. For instance, the painting "Picking up the child": a sun-tanned rural woman who apparently has just completed field work, is knocking on a kindergarten window from the outside.

Subdued light and the air of happiness - the brand-name pattern of the heart-warming lyrical painter which cannot be described exclusively by colours or other external traits of his personal style - also shines here, adding a sublime touch to a transitory domestic scene.

Urban landscapes also invariably affected the creative views of Abdullayev, especially since the painter's adulthood, a time when his creative life flourished during the years of widespread development and building activity in the city of Baku - from the early post-war period all the way to the 1980s. Some of Abdullayev's paintings can be used in studying the history of the Soviet-era construction work in Baku as they are not only landscapes drawn by the brush of an outstanding painter but are also nearly documentary proof of the architectural history of the capital city ("Baku under construction", 1951).

The painter traveled extensively both throughout the Soviet Union and abroad (India, Afghanistan, Poland, Italy and other countries), and brought sketches from everywhere. They were subsequently used to create magnificent paintings reflecting the impressions about his trips. Following his first trip to India in 1957, he traveled to that country a few more times, and each time he supplemented his previous impressions with new expressive works. The Indian government awarded Abdullayev with a gold medal and a diploma as winner of the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1970 for his art cycle "Across India". The new album has a plethora of reproductions from this cycle, including landscapes, portraits and genre scenes. The "Landscapes" section also features views of many other countries. For example, it includes works from the artist's well-known Venice series.

In the 1970s, Abdullayev decorated the lobby of the Nizami underground station with mosaic panel pictures on the basis of storylines from Nizami's works. The main painting on the sidewall is a huge portrait of Nizami. The book includes not only photographs of these monumental works but also their sketches, as well as archive photos reflecting the process of creation of these works. The book's graphics is represented by reproductions of illustrations for poems "Gulistan" by Saadi Shirazi and "Leyli and Majnun" by Fizuli. Dozens of canvases created by the outstanding painter are available at an exhibition that opened on the day the book was presented. The exhibits include many portraits and paintings related to his foreign trips (primarily from the  cycle "Across India"), as well as all artworks from the "Seven beauties" series.

Lyricist of the highest grade

The presentation ceremony, which was attended by Mikayil Abdullayev's family members, was also joined by prominent public figures and renowned men of art and culture. Addressing the event, the Rector of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Arts, Omar Eldarov, the Rector of Baku Music Academy, People's Artist Farhad Badalbayli, the Secretary of the Union of Artists of Azerbaijan, People's Painter Agali Ibrahimov, etc. spoke about Abdullayev's significant contribution to the development of national art.

"Mikayil Abdullayev lived a bright and happy creative life. He was an amazingly subtle and lyrical painter," Academician Omar Eldarov recalled during the presentation ceremony. "First of all, he was a quiet and intelligent person. His works are that way too. Look at these flexible lines, soft characters and appeasing colours! The secret of his creative work lies in this integrity."

Eldarov noted that Abdullayev asserted himself as a lyricist of the highest grade back when he created his first major piece of art, the "Evening" canvas, depicting peasants with so much affection. In doing so, Abdullayev eulogised reality not only in the paintings reflecting rural labor, but also in harsh industrial landscapes. The latter was, to some extent, a novelty for the traditions of socialist realism, and in the series "Mingachevir suite", dedicated to the construction of a major hydro-power plant, Abdullayev proved that such a synergy is quite possible and, moreover, completely justified. 

"Look at the great feeling with which these lights, these nights were depicted!" Eldarov stressed, referring to the mentioned series. This particular series includes "The makers of happiness", an amazing painting in terms of the power of its impact in which a sense of youth and optimism seems to permeate every stroke of the brush. Enamoured young man and girl, who met while working at a construction site of the planned Mingachevir hydro-power station, are ready to pursue not only their personal happiness but also the well-being of their home country. A fragment of this wonderful painting, one of the outstanding masterpieces of the painter, is shown on the cover of a book published under the Xalq Emaneti project.

The exhibitions of the painter's works are open to visitors at the head office of Xalq Bank in Baku from 1 March to 1 June, and at the bank's Ganja branch from 10 March to 10 June.