Minavvar Rzayeva - the first woman representative of Azerbaijani monumental sculpture
The first monumental sculptor of the East, Honored Artist Munnavar Majid gizi Rzayeva, was born on June 6, 1929, in Baku. Originally from Shusha, her father, Majid bey, was a renowned carpet master in Shusha. From 1946 to 1950, Munavvar Rzayeva studied at the Azim Azimzadeh Art School and then attended the Faculty of Sculpture at the V.I. Surikov Moscow State Academy of Arts from 1950 to 1956.
At the ANAS Nizami Literature Museum, she worked as a restoration artist, skillfully restoring several sculptures and becoming the creator of numerous statues, busts, and bas-reliefs. In 1953, she was elected as a member of the Union of Artists and the State Commission of the Ministry of Culture.
Munavvar Rzayeva is the creator of nearly a hundred statues and busts installed in Baku and other regions of Azerbaijan. She sculpted busts of notable figures such as Huseyn Javid, Sergei Yesenin, Nariman Narimanov, Mikayil Mushfig, Nâzım Hikmet, Ayna Sultanova, Sevil Gaziyeva, Bahmanyar, Nasimi, and others. Her sculptures are distinguished by their emotional depth. The depiction of Mahsati Ganjavi alone took her 20 years to perfect, as she worked on countless variations to capture the full essence of the great poetess.
Munavvar Rzayeva approached every detail in her works with meticulous care and skillfully achieved the expressive quality of the eyes, a talent that very few artists possess. In her sculptures, each detail plays a crucial role in conveying the overall idea of the piece. Primarily recognized as a master of psychological portraiture, she skillfully crafted the eyes of her sculptures to reflect the inner world, psychological state, and perspective of the characters she created, with remarkable delicacy and depth.
She created statues, busts, and bas-reliefs of artists, statesmen, and labor heroes primarily using granite, marble, bronze, and wood, showcasing her unique style.
One of her recent works that holds a special place in her creativity is the bronze bas-relief of Heydar Aliyev, which is mounted on the "Heydar Peak" located in the Gusar region, at an altitude of 3,763 meters (measuring 82 cm in length and 59 cm in width). This bas-relief was installed on the highest mountain peak, which was conquered by a team of climbers in honor of Heydar Aliyev's 75th birthday on May 10, 1998.
Munavvar Rzayeva was awarded the honorary title of Honored Artist of Azerbaijan in 1997. Her works are housed in the Azerbaijan State Art Museum named after Rustam Mustafayev, the Literature Museum named after Nizami of ANAS, the Ordubadi Museum, the Siyazan House of Culture, and the Art Foundation.
Munavvar Rzayeva, who crafted prominent figures of Azerbaijan with exquisite taste, has etched her name in the annals of Azerbaijani sculpture in golden letters through the monumental statues she created as an artist who loves her people and country.
Munavvar Rzayeva passed away on June 6, 2004.
Recommended literature:
- Quliyev, Rafiq Məhərrəm oğlu. Azərbaycan incəsənətində rəmzi-obrazlı bədii şərhə yüksəlmə / R. M. Quliyev ; elmi red. V. İ. İsmayılov ; red. R. N. Qurbanov ; Mədəniyyətşünaslıq üzrə Elmi-Metodiki Mərkəz. - Bakı : Təknur MMC, 2007. - 160 s.
- Əliyev, Elçin Tofiq oğlu. Bakı memarlıq abidələrində fasad heykəltaraşlıq nümunələri: On doqquzuncu əsrin sonu - iyirminci əsrin əvvəlləri /E. T. Əliyev ; red. P. Əliyeva ; ingilis dilindən tərc. A. Əzimov; fransız dilindən tərc.: K. Əhmədova, L. Aubri; dizayn. N. Novruzov Foto-albom. - Bakı: Meqa, 2010. - 332 s.