Togrul Narimanbekov was a prominent Azerbaijani artist, who lived and worked in Baku and Paris. He painted portraits, landscapes, scenes from everyday life, as well as Azerbaijani people, among other subjects. In addition, Togrul was an opera singer.
Background
Ethnicity:
Togrul's father was of an Azerbaijani ancestry and his mother was a frenchwoman.
Togrul Narimanbekov was born on August 7, 1930, in Baku, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, Soviet Union (present-day Baku, Azerbaijan) into a family of Farman Narimanbekov, an engineer, and Irma Laroudé, an artist. Togrul's grandfather, Amirbek Narimanbekov, was a governor of Baku. Vidadi Narimanbekov, a painter, who died in 2001, was Togrul's brother.
Education
Togrul's first teacher was Kamil Khanlarov, a well-known Azerbaijani artist, whose role in the formation of the future titan of Azerbaijani art was priceless. During the period from 1946 till 1950, Togrul studied at the Azim Azimzade Azerbaijan Art School. Then, in 1950, he entered the Vilnius Academy of Arts, graduating in 1955.
From 1952, Togrul took part in various art exhibitions. In 1961, 1965 and 1975, he held solo exhibitions in Baku, in 1965 - in Prague, in 1967 and 1972 - in Moscow, in 1972 - in Vilnius, in 1973 - in Volgograd, Wroclaw, Warsaw and Sopot and in 1975 - in Lviv.
In 1967, Togrul went on a working trip to Hungary. In 1969, he took another trip to France. Some time later, in 1971, Togrul visited India. The following year, in 1972, he held an exhibition, dedicated to India, at the House of Friendship in Moscow. The same year, the artist held a solo exhibition in Vilnius. In 1974, Narimanbekov dedicated another exhibition to India, that was held in Baku.
Throughout his career, Togrul created numerous works, including "Pomegranates and Pears", "Harvest Festival", "Tea House in the Park", "Maiden Tower", "Family of the Artist Elbey Rzaguliyev", "Mugham", "Memories of Paris" and many others. Besides portraits, still life paintings and other subjects, the theme of music held a special place in his work. Children, too, were among his favorite subjects in his oeuvre.
Narimanbekov's many landscapes were dedicated to his native Baku. These works include "Road to Bayil", "Baku Yard", "Midday in Baku", "Old Baku", "Spring in Baku", "My City", "Windy Day in Baku" and others. Working on his landscapes, Narimanbekov also painted the Caspian Sea and Absheron with special love and awe.
During his trips to India, the artist produced numerous works, dedicated to the people, nature and culture of this country. The works he created during that time include "A Walk in Delhi", "Mahatma Gandhi", "Mother and Child", "Wish Tree" and others. While traveling, Togrul also painted views of different cities, such as Samarkand, Vilnius, Moscow and many others.
It's worth noting, that Togrul could boast his mastery of mural painting. His skill in creating large-scale, multilayered compositions and panel paintings reflected the evolution of his individual style. For the artist, the 1970's and 1980's were marked by intensive construction work in Baku. He painted Baku Puppet Theatre, the lobby of the hotel "Moscow" and the building of the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR.
During his career, Narimanbekov also produced stage decorations. In 1968, he designed the ballet "Shadows of Gobustan" by Faraj Garayev. Togrul also designed a choreographic poem "A Tale of Nesimi" by Fikret Amirov, as well as the ballet "1001 Nights".
Besides being a brilliant artist, Togrul also was an opera singer. In his early years, he performed various arias of Azerbaijani and foreign composers. In the late 1980's, Togrul collaborated with his second wife, Sevil, who helped organize his concerts. Sevil also acted as the director of the artist's exhibitions. In the early 1998, Narimanbekov had a solo concert under the accompaniment of the Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra. The same year, he exhibited his new works at the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater.
In his late years, Togrul worked and lived in Paris.
Togrul Narimanbekov was a renowned artist and skillful muralist, who gained prominence for his portraits, landscapes, scenes from everyday life, depictions of Azerbaijani people and other subjects. Also, he was a notable opera singer, who had a brilliant voice.
There are many notable works, created by this artist, however, his composition "Mugham", painted in 1965, is deservedly considered to be a masterpiece of Azerbaijani art and is one of Narimanbekov’s most recognizable canvases.
During his lifetime, the artist attained numerous awards, including the State Prize of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1974, USSR State Prize in 1980, Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1980, Order of the Badge of Honour in 2010, Sharaf Order in 2011 and others.
In 1964, Togrul was made Honored Art Worker of the Azerbaijan SSR. Three years later, in 1967, he was honored with the title of People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR.
Togrul assumed, that it was necessary for arts to return to origins of national culture.
Membership
member
Artists' Union of the USSR
1955
Personality
Physical Characteristics:
Togrul suffered from heart disease.
Connections
Togrul was married twice. His first marriage to Elmira Hüseynova, a sculptor and painter, produced one daughter, named Asmer Narimanbekova. Later, he married his second wife, Sevil Narimanbekova. Their marriage produced one son - Francois Narimanbekov.
"Servet" series of albums. The National Heritage project.
As part of The National Heritage project implemented by Xalq Bank, Azerbaijan National Museum of Art under the head of Chingiz Farzaliyev prepared the "Servet" series of albums dedicated to the masters of Azerbaijani art.
