PORTRAIT OF A MAN

The name of the People's Artist, Oqtay Sadixzada, is well-known not only in Azerbaijan but also far beyond. His paintings were exhibited in many museums of Russia, the USA, Canada, Germany, France, Turkey, Israel, and Pakistan. And last year, in his 90th anniversary, Oqtay Sadixzada, was awarded the Order of Glory for his services to the Fatherland. Currently, the master teaches at the department of free graphics in the Azerbaijani State Academy of Fine Arts, educating young artists to free graphics and illustration of works of literature.

- Mr Sadixzada, tell us first about your family.

- My great grandfather Seyid Sadix was a son of the spiritual leader Mir Hasan and lived in Icari Sahar, where he was known as a benevolent and noble man. He studied navigation well and was a pilot on a merchant ship. My father Seyid Huseyn was a wonderful writer, was genuinely passionate about literature, poetry and the idea of national independence. He wrote a lot, published articles in newspapers and magazines. My mother Mrs. Umgulsum was a cousin of Mammadamin Rasulzada. My parents were introduced by Huseyn Cavid and his spouse at the premiere of "The Dead" by Calil Mammadquluzada.

Since early childhood I have dreamed of becoming an artist. My father supported me in my desire: he drew well and was interested in paintings. As a son of a painter-novelist and poet, I was equally attracted by painting and literature. I was fond of drawing even though I also liked writing poems. My mother encouraged me in this. Being in love with the creative activities of Fizuli, Natavan, she wanted to involve me and two younger brothers - Togrul and Ciqotay and sister Gumral to the high poetry. From early childhood, she read us poems of Azerbaijani poets and own poems.

- And yet you chose painting...

- In 1935 I enrolled at an art school. Out of the teachers of that time, I remember with gratitude artist Piralov. By the way, the guys in my group were both talented and bright. I studied together with the future luminaries of the Azerbaijani art, Mikayil Abdullayev, Boyukaga Mirzazada, Qafar Seyfullayev. The spirit of creativity and knowledge prevailed at the school. We were attending the classes all the year, during the examination displays there turned out to be as many paintings that there were no enough space on the walls to hang them, we had to put the work on the floor. In a nutshell, the years of study were very busy. In the college I was also interested in literature. After study, I read at home Flaubert, Balzac, Hugo, Dickens, Rabelais, Tolstoy, Sabir, and Huseyn Cavid. I also really liked the work of literature of my father. But our entire family fortune suddenly collapsed. In 1937 my parents were arrested as enemies of the people. The father was shot in the building of the NKVD, and my mother was sent to Mordovia for eight years. There, she became very ill and was returned a year earlier. But my mother was no longer accepted to Baku. People, who were in exile, did not have the right to live in the capital. Thus, my mother moved to Samaxi and died there three months later.

- How do you, the children, managed to survive this tragedy?

- When my father was shot, and the mother was sent to Mordovia, I, my sister and brothers began to live with the father's niece Mrs. Seyrey, who devoted her entire life to upbringing of the three children. I became the head of the family, and I had to earn our bread. In 1939 I graduated from an art school and wanted to continue studying in Moscow, but the responsibility for the family and the need made me to abandon this idea. I participated in various exhibitions; my paintings were highly valued by the exhibition committee. I remember in 1940 a group of Soviet artists came from Moscow to select works to the All-Union exhibition at the Tretyakov Gallery. And of the two selected pictures by them - one "Sending of conscripts" was mine. At that time I was only 19 years old. This creative success inspired me very much, but alas, the fate had decided otherwise - 20 days before the beginning of the Great Patriotic war - I, as the son of an enemy of the people, was sent into exile in the Altay region.

I remember how we lived in a hut that served as a barrack for 250 people, how we froze at nights, how once in three or four months, we were taken on foot to a bathroom three miles away, how we built a tractor factory. By the way, then I sketched that dwelling from memory. From memory and remaining photographs in 1992, I painted a portrait of my mother, issued a camp diary and her poetry, miraculously preserved in the trunk, found in a niche of an old house. When I was in exile, my talent was noticed and they began to trust me to paint a variety of posters, slogans and portraits of the leaders for the holidays.

I remember I was asked to paint 40 portraits of Stalin for a week. Time was short, and seven days, I hardly slept, but passed the job on time. Of course, I realized that the person, I drew, sent my parents to death. I realized how monstrous and horrible the regime was. I knew and hated, but could not do anything. And this powerlessness was the most terrible thing...

- Tell us about the fate of your brothers and the sister. What about them?

- While I was in exile, my brothers and my sister went through a lot of things. Our cousin was also jailed. He died there in prison. In our family 17 people were put behind bars with the stigma of the "enemy of the people". The founder of the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic, Mammadamin Rasulzada, was a cousin of my mother. Their house was on the scene of the present metro station "Nizami". After my return from exile Togrul worked for some time at the Azneft, and then went to an art school. Another brother had no luck. He ended up in a labour battalion, sickened gravely and died at the age of 24. My sister Qumral graduated from the university, she was not employed for a long time. Then she married, became a writer, a member of the Union of Writers. She wrote many books, two of which she devoted to the tragic history of our family.

- For a long time, you worked in the publishing house Azarnashr. Designed and illustrated books...

- In 1955 I was invited to the State Publishing House Azarnashr, to which I was indescribably happy. It was very difficult to find a job in the post-war years! So I became the chief art editor and headed a department of nine people. We published and decorated Azerbaijani tales, plays by Huseyn Cavid, stories by Calil Mammadquluzada, Seyid Huseyn, Cafar Cabbarli, Mirza Fatali Axundov and others. At the same time, I graduated from the graphics department of the Moscow Surikov Art Institute.

- Your wife Elmira Shaxtaxtinskaya was also a well-known artist. How did two painters get along under the same roof?

- She is not with me for over fifteen years, but she has always been along me in my thoughts. We met with Elmira in our publishing house Azarnashr, where she came to work after the graphics department of the Moscow Art Institute. When I first saw her, I immediately realized that she is my fate! She was a very gifted person, always cheerful and sent forth light. We were happy together. Between us there were sometimes creative disputes, but we always supported each other. When we decided to say goodbye to publishing activities and start free creative work, Elmira worked in the landscape and the poster, and I took up painting, almost entirely concentrated the focus of my creative interests on the portraits.

- Most of your pictures are made up of exactly portraits. Is it difficult to convey a person's mood on the canvas?

- It is very interesting to paint portraits. You would like to identify the most important, the most characteristic in a person. In my paintings, I try to give a psychological portrait of my characters by showing their inner world.

Technically, this is probably not very difficult. Anyone can learn it. I think I could quickly explain how to draw "similarly". But there are some more subtle things that cannot be explained in words. One can only feel, set heart on it... Even photos are similar and dissimilar; illuminates different features of human vision, and depend very much on shrewdness of a photographer. I think with the help of visual tools, you can make the best portrait! But it is difficult.

I remember after Heydar Aliyev sent my wife Elmira for the treatment at public expense, I decided to thank him and decided to paint his portrait. I worked on it for three months, but nothing came out of it. I decided to make a second attempt, but the portrait was "lifeless". Two years later, I picked up the canvas for the third time. I collected a lot of photos of Heydar Aliyev, because he did not have enough time to pose. Finally, I was able to "catch" the same view of Aliyev and the turning of the head. You know, it was quite difficult to draw that man. Even his eye colors changed depending on the mood and state of mind. But he liked my picture...

- So, the artist must be a kind of psychologist?

- Of course. I think a good artist should be able to find and show a person's positive qualities. Before I begin, I talk with my future hero, talk to him, and then take up my brush.

- Mr Oqtay, for over your 90 years, you've seen and survived a lot. So what do you think the meaning of life is?

- Life is so short and incomprehensible that even at the end of the road, you cannot explain its meaning. At some point of your life, you think that you definitely need to keep at least some memory of yourself. And the older you are, the clearer you realize that all is forgotten and time erases everything. You can only remain in the memory of your loved ones, your family. Family - this is the meaning of life...