Rasim Babayev's exhibition opens in St. Petersburg

In St. Petersburg on the Dvortsovaya River Embankment of the Neva in the Marble Palace of the Russian Museum an exhibition has opened of National Artist of Azerbaijan Rasim Babayev, who is the most visible representative of the so-called Apsheron School and a bright artist of Azerbaijan of the 20th century. Fantastic characters appear to the viewer in the many pictures of the master – divas and dragons, magic birds, caravans of decorated camels, oriental beauties, simple-minded old men and fantastic grandmothers, primogenitors of the human race Adam and Eve. The exhibition consists of 80 paintings and drawings from the collection of the artist's family and the Marjani Foundation's collection. The opening ceremony was attended by the Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Leyla Aliyeva, and the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia, Polad Bulbuloglu.

"Azerbaijan loves Russian culture very much, its literature, art and painting. We are very glad that Russia is interested in Azerbaijani culture too. Of course, in my opinion cultural exchange is the most important. That people feel and understand each other is very valuable, we will continue in this direction," vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva said.

"We are so glad to be holding an exhibition of this Azerbaijani artist in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. Rasim Babayev was a remarkable artist, a remarkable person. He left this life, but there were his pictures, his works. There was his unusual thinking, his unusual vision of the world which he displayed in pictures. His reflections compel the viewer to empathize, to reflect, in addition to simply admire," Azerbaijani ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu said.

"The head of the Azerbaijani educational center for children and youth, Hasan Masimov, spoke about Rasim Babayev's creativity," he added.

"His late works are presented in this exhibition "Rasim Babayev". It is known that he graduated from the Surikovsky Institute, now it is a university. By the way, he was not given a diploma, because in those years, in the 70s, Rasim Babayev and many artists, Russians, the most venerable artists of those times, they stood at the origins of the underground. The underground is the art forbidden in the Soviet Union. They differed in imagery, the manner of the letter from the realistic school. Actually, today at this exhibition there are absolutely none of those works which were inherent in him in the initial stage of his creativity. In his initial creativity, especially in the 70s, he painted huge tanks in a realistic manner. Azerbaijani nature with its wealth – oil, but in realistic images. Here this isn't present. We see only a fantastic and unusual world," the ambassador said.

The exhibition is organized by the Mardzhani Foundation for the Support and Development of Scientific and Cultural Programs and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, with support from the Russian Foreign Ministry and the embassy of the Azerbaijan Republic in Russia. The exhibition will continue until November 24.