Biography and creativity of Tahir Salahov

Artist Tahir Salakhov today know far beyond the post-Soviet space. During his long life he wrote countless paintings that are now stored in museums and private collections around the world. The painter's talent is unlimited. Its authorship includes portraits, still-lifes, landscapes, multi-figured paintings. In addition, Salakhov is a famous stage designer and graphic artist.

Childhood of the son of the enemy of the people

Salakhov Tahir Teymur oglu (otherwise - Salakhov Tair Teymurovich) was born in Baku in 1928. In addition to him, four children were growing up in the family of the party worker Teymur Salakhov and his wife Sona. When Tair was 9 years old, his father was arrested on charges of separatism and sentenced to be shot. Widowed Sona was forced to single-handedly bring up five children. She did not have to rely on outside help, because all family and friends turned away from the family of the enemy of the people. For 19 years, no outsider has crossed the threshold of their house.

Obtaining education and rehabilitation of the father

After completing his studies at the school, Tair entered the Baku Art College. Having finished it in 1950, he went to Leningrad and applied to the Institute of Painting, Architecture and Sculpture. Repin. Although Salakhov successfully passed all the entrance examinations, he was not admitted to the university because of the brand "son of the enemy of the people". Deciding to try his luck again, he submitted documents to the Moscow Art Institute. Surikov and, to great pleasure, did. Studying in the studio of the famous Russian painter and teacher Peter Pokarzhevsky, Salakhov declared himself as a talented and promising artist. His thesis "From Watch" became one of the most notable paintings of the Khrushchev's thaw period. Today it is stored in St. Petersburg in the Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Arts.

A young Azerbaijani painter graduated from the Art Institute in 1957, and a year earlier Teymur Salakhov was posthumously rehabilitated and all charges were dropped because of the lack of corpus delicti. The tragic fate of his father left an indelible mark in the work of Tahir Salakhov, who for a moment does not doubt his innocence. In the second half of the 50s he became the founder of the "severe style" in socialist painting, which is the opposite of Stalinist realism.

Pictures of Salakhov

In his early works, Salakhov with amazing accuracy managed to convey the spirit of the Khrushchev's thaw period . The heroes of his paintings were representatives of the working class, whose images are saturated with strength, courage and invincibility. The painter devoted a significant part of his paintings to Azerbaijani oil workers (Repairers, Morning in the Caspian, Morning Echelon, Women of Absheron). Later, there was a place in the work of Tahir Salakhov for portraits of famous people. Brushes of the Azerbaijani artist belong to the paintings depicting the composers K. Karayev, F. Amirov, D. Shostakovich, musician M. Rostropovich, actor M. Schell, artist R. Rauschenberg, writer G. Hesse, etc. In addition, Salakhov created a variety of landscapes , Still lifes and scenery for theatrical productions. Tahir Teymurovich devoted many of his works to his native Azerbaijan, often depicting Nakhichevan mountains and Apsheron landscapes on canvases.

Awards

After Taim Teymurovich was removed from the stamp of "son of the enemy of the people," he received national recognition. In 1960 he was awarded the title of Honored Worker of Arts of the AzSSR, in 1963 - People's Artist of the AzSSR, and a decade later - People's Artist of the USSR. In the collection of awards Salakhov, there are 13 orders awarded to outstanding artists. In addition, he is the Hero of Socialist Labor and a laureate of 6 prestigious awards.

Pedagogical and social activities

In 1963-1974, Tair Salakhov, whose biography is described in the article, taught at the Azerbaijan Art Institute. Aliyev. During this period he defended his doctoral dissertation and became a professor. In 1975, Salakhov was invited to work in the Moscow Art Institute. Surikov. In the period from 1984 to 1992 he headed the department of painting and composition in it. Over the years, devoted to teaching, Tahir Salakhov prepared a large number of talented artists who live and work today in all corners of the world.

Tair Salakhov, despite his constant employment, managed to find time for social activities. From the late 70's to the present day he is a member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Arts. In addition, since 1997, the painter holds the post of its vice-president.

A family

The artist twice married. His first wife was the artist Vanzetta Khanum. During her life together with her, Tahir Salahov was born three daughters - Lara, Alagez and Aidan. Now the painter lives in a marriage with the soloist of the State Ensemble of Igor Moiseyev Varvara Alexandrovna Salahova. In the marriage with her, his son Ivan was born. The youngest daughter of Tair Teymurovich Aidan Salakhova is today a famous artist and gallery owner. She, like her father in the old days, now teaches at the Surikov Institute.

Painter Tair Salakhov: "The Sun at the Zenith"

Beginning in the mid-1950s, Salakhov's paintings were repeatedly presented at regional, republican, all-Union and international exhibitions, as well as at the personal exhibitions of the painter. The largest exhibition of the artist - "The Sun at the zenith" - took place in early 2016 in the Tretyakov Gallery. It was presented nearly 80 works of Salakhov, relating to different periods of his work. In addition to the works known to all, one could see portraits of Tair Teymurovich's mother, who were rarely shown for public viewing.

The exhibition was the main cultural event of Moscow and attracted a lot of attention from art connoisseurs and media representatives. Tahir Salakhov was in the Tretyakov Gallery personally. The 87-year-old painter gave interviews, communicated with guests and showed to others that, despite his considerable age, he is still full of energy and is not going to go on a well-deserved rest.