Renowned artist Maral Rahmanzadeh
Maral Yusif gizi Rahmanzadeh was born on July 23, 1916, in the village of Mardakan, into a jeweler’s family. The artist grew up in a creative environment alongside her brothers and sisters. In the family she was raised, ancient traditions of Azerbaijani art were carefully preserved and passed down from one generation to another one.
In 1930, Maral Rahmanzadeh enrolled in the Azerbaijan State Art College, and later continued her education at the Surikov Moscow State Academic Art Institute. Upon graduating, she began working at the Moscow publishing house “Художественная литература” (“Art Literature”). In 1941, her father was declared an “enemy of the people” and died six months later in a prison, in Tashkent. M. Rahmanzadeh returned to Baku and resumed her creative activities.
The artist’s works, including “At the Caspian Sea”, “Women of Azerbaijan”, “My Homeland”, “Sumgait-Rustavi” and others, were exhibited in more than 50 exhibitions in different countries around the world. In her pieces, she celebrated the unparalleled beauty of her native land – the majestic mountains of Nakhchivan, the fertile gardens of Guba, the ancient forests of Lankaran, the secluded village of Khinalig in the mountains.
Maral Rahmanzadeh frequently depicted women in national costumes in her works, highlighting their natural beauty. The female figures in her paintings are beautiful and cheerful rural girls. Maral Rahmanzadeh, the daughter of a jeweler, lovingly and skillfully complemented national attire with jewelry. She embodied female figures in works such as “Girls of the Land of Fires”, “Three Flowers”, and “My Sisters”.
The talented artist also worked extensively in the field of book graphics, creating illustrations for literary works. She is the author of illustrations for works such as “Sword and Feather” by M.S. Ordubadi, “Deceived Stars” by M.F. Akhundov, “Eugene Onegin” by A. Pushkin, and “A Hero of Our Time” by M. Lermontov. Maral Rahmanzadeh created a series of engravings dedicated to the lives of countries she visited.
Her works were exhibited in art exhibitions abroad (UK, France, Italy, Japan, Australia, Belgium, Syria, Lebanon, among others). She held solo exhibitions in Moscow, Baku, and other cities in Azerbaijan, as well as in Sri Lanka (1958), Cuba (1964), and Iran (1991). Her most famous works include “Azerbaijan – the Land of Oil”, “On the Shores of the Caspian”, and “Self-Portrait”.
For her significant contribution to the development of national visual arts, Maral Rahmanzadeh was awarded with numerous orders and medals, including the Order of “Shohrat”.
Renowned artist Maral Rahmanzadeh passed away on March 18, 2008.
Recommended literature:
- Maral Rəhmanzadə : 1916-2008: qrafika, rəngkarlıq = Maral Rahmanzadeh : 1916-2008: graphic arts, painting / layihənin rəh. Ç. Fərzəliyev ; mətnin müəl. X. Əsədova ; ing. dilinə tərc.: I. Peart, S. İbrahimova, Ə. Məlikova. - Bakı : Şərq-Qərb, 2013. - 104 s.
- Quliyev, Əsəd Məhəmməd oğlu. XX əsr Azərbaycan incəsənəti haqqında oçerklər / Ə. M. Quliyev ; elmi red. K. M. Əliyeva ; ön sözün müəl. Ö. H. Eldarov ; Azərbaycan Respublikası Mədəniyyət və Turizm Nazirliyi. - Bakı : Təhsil, 2012.
- Azərbaycan memarlıq abidələri rəsm əsərlərində: (Milli Azərbaycan Tarixi Muzeyinin Təsviri materiallar fondunun kolleksiyasından) /Milli Azərbaycan Tarixi Muzeyi ; mətn N. Yusifova ; elmi red. N. Vəlixanlı ; materialların topl. İ. İsmayılova ; fotoqraf M. Həsənoğlu ; dizayner A. İsmayılova. - Bakı: Təhsil, 2022. - 62 s.