Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Director of the National Art Museum, Honored Art Worker Chingiz Farzaliyev has been awarded with the Gold Medal of the Russian Academy of Arts.

The medal was presented by the First Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Arts Viktor Kalinin, Trend Life reported.

It was stressed that Farzaliyev was awarded with the Gold Medal not only as the head of one of the best museums in the post-Soviet space, but also as an artist who has great merits in strengthening friendly ties between Russia and Azerbaijan.

It is noteworthy that he is an honorary member and honorary professor of the Russian Academy of Arts.

In turn, Chingiz Farzaliyev thanked the leadership and members of the Russian Academy of Arts for the high award.

The Azerbaijan National Art Museum is a treasure house that preserves national moral values and cultural heritage. The museum holds more than 17,000 artistic exhibits, which have a rich history.

Over 3,000 items in 60 rooms are on permanent display at the museum. Moreover, about 12,000 items are kept in storage.

The collection of National Art Museum covers a vast span of time. Archaeological vessels date from the 6-4 millennia B.C., which were discover on the territory of different regions of Azerbaijan, ceramics of the Middle Ages, bronze and copper wares of the 11th-19th cc., unique ancient carpets, jewelry, executing in the different techniques are kept in the museum.

Approximately 9,000 scientific books and monographs, catalogues, albums and other professional literature are kept in the library of the museum.

Moreover, art lovers can enjoy the examples of decorative-applied arts of Western Europe. Seven of the rooms in the first building feature European art, and ten rooms feature Russian art.

Art works of Italian (Guercino, Leandro Bassano, Francesco Solimena, Lorenzo Bartolini), French (Jules Dupré, Gaspard Dughet, Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret, Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant), Dutch/Flemish (Frans Hals, Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt, Adriaen Brouwer, Adriaen van Ostade, Justus Sustermans, Pieter Claesz), German (Johann Heinrich Roos, Friedrich August von Kaulbach) and Polish (Jan Styka) painters are displayed in the museum.

Russian art is represented by paintings of Karl Briullov, Alexey Venetsianov, Vasily Vereshchagin, Isaac Levitan, Vladimir Makovsky, Valentin Serov, Vladimir Borovikovsky, Vasily Tropinin, Konstantin Korovin and Ivan Shishkin. There are also restored samples of Russian avant-garde.

The works of Azerbaijani artists Mir Mohsun Navvab, Bahruz Kangarli, Tair Salakhov, Azim Azimzade, Salam Salamzade, Vidadi Narimanbekov, Mikail Abdullayev, Togrul Narimanbekov and sculptor Omar Eldarov are also kept in the museum halls.

National Art Museum also holds book miniatures of 17th-19th centuries, lacquered miniatures (18th-19th centuries) and collection of sherbet spoons made from mulberry tree.

The first works were obtained from Saint-Petersburg, Moscow and private collections. The museum expositions were later exhibited in Canada (1966), Cuba (1967), Syria (1968), France (1969), former Czechoslovakia, Algeria (both 1970), Iraq (1971) etc.

In 2018, the museum opened to art lovers after major overhaul.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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