Azerbaijan culture
One of the world's most ancient nations - the nation of Azerbaijan - has the right to feel proud for its history, material and cultural monuments, literature, arts and music heritage.
Wonderful nature, climate, natural resources of the country produced a significant impact on artistic thinking and creation skills of Azerbaijani people as well. In spite of a long and difficult way undergone by different types of arts in Azerbaijan, they still represent a unity and provide outstanding opportunities for the creation of a full idea of fine arts of Azerbaijan. The folk arts of Azerbaijan are multi-colored, complete and rich, as its natural resources. The folk art is connected with daily life of people and daily life occupies a very special life in the fine arts as well. Folk arks cover a long period from ancient times to nowadays and including a variety of products from garments to housing goods and decoration.
Quite obviously, the style of life, aesthetic tastes, the national image and qualities, are strongly reflected in folk arts. One can easily come across numerous wonderful models of Azerbaijani folk arts in the world's largest museums. The pieces of arts created by the skillful hands of Nagorny Kharabakh, Tabriz, Gandja, Gazakh, Guba, Naku, Shaki, Shamakhi and Nakhchivan can be found in large museum collections of Victoria and Albert of London, Louvers of Paris, Metropoliten of Vashington and Vienna, Rome, Berlin, Istanbul, Tehran, Cairo museums.
The history of folk arts in Azerbaijan has a long and interesting history. Works of art made from metal extracted from Nakhchivan, Mingachevir, Gandja and other places are approximately 5000 years old. Crockery, weapons and adornments found here are not historical facts alone, but valuable sources which testify the skills of the master. Material and cultural models, found during archeological excavations in the territory of Azerbaijan, testify that our ancestors made crockery, daggers, axes, belts and adornments of bronze and used them in daily life. This proves the ancient age of such types of activity as copper-smithy and gold smithy.
There are those with portrayals, showing traditions, religious ideas and even garments of people of that epoch among art patterns made from metal. History, of ethnographical and artistic features of folk art are reflected on the garments. These features are reflected both on garments of certain form and its adornments and fine needle-work, knitting.
Bronze needles and awls from the beginning of the bronze epoch (III millennium B.C ) were found during archeological excavations in Azerbaijan as well. These findings prove that the ancient population of Azerbaijan could sue clothes for themselves. Little clay statues founded from Kultapa and Mingachevir (III millennium B.C) and seals of the V century B.C found in Mingachevir provided opportunities to have a certain idea of garments of that time. Clothing remnants sued from different silk materials are found in Mingachevir catacombs of V-VI centuries B.C. Number of adornments ( III-IV century B.C), made of gold, and clay crock of foot-gear form are well-grounded evidences, proving old high material culture of Azerbaijanis.
Different pictures, scraped on housing implements made from copper, bronze, gold and adornments, prove existence of fine art in Azerbaijan since ancient times. Horse-cloth with flowers on clay figure of horse (II millennium B.C.), found in Maku in South Azerbaijan, golden basin with picture of line (I millennium B.C), found in Hasanli hill near the Urmiya lake, and other findings show the ancient history of carpet-making, one of the branches of folk art in Azerbaijan. Remains of palaz (a kind of carpet without pile) and carpet of I and III centuries discovered during archeological dig in Mingachevir.
According to archeological dig and written sources Azerbaijan people has been occupying with carpet-making since bronze epoch ( late II millennium - early I millennium). Heorodot, Klavdi Elian, Ksenofont and other world historians wrote about carpet-making development in Azerbaijan. Carpets, weaved by separate carpet-making schools of Azerbaijan (Guba, Baku, Shirvan, Gandja, Gazakh, Nagorny Karabakh, Tabriz) in different periods, amaze people till nowadays. Most of them kept in well-known museums of the world. Gobustan rock pictures, pictures, belonged to the early of bronze epoch (III millennium B.C) in Aychingilli and Parichingil mountains near the Zalkha lake in Kalbacar region, rock pictures in the Gamigaya Mountains in the north of Ordubad town have exception importance among the most old patterns of fine art. Pictures about ancient people's mode of life, welfare, labour, carved in the Gobustan rockeries, represent special interest. Different subjects, scenes on hunting, cattle breeding, planting and other branches of household, human and animal pictures were carved in dynamic way. The Gobustan rock pictures - pictograms cover multi-centuries old history from primitive communal order to feudalism. Azerbaijan was rich of architectural pieces one of branches of folk art along with works of fine art since ancient times. Maiden tower and Shirvanshahs palace in Baku, Momina Xatun and Yusif ibn Kuseyr mausoleums, created by architect Acami in Nakhichevan, Natavan's home, pictures on walls of Shaki khan palace and other patterns are rare pearls of architecture.
Motherland of Azerbaijan people possessed rich musical and cultural heritage is famous as Land of flames. Azerbaijan music, enriching world musical culture with its rare pearls, has multi-centuries old traditions. Creators of folk music, handed over these traditions to generations, have great role in development of Azerbaijan music. Folk songs, dances, ashug creation (folk poet and singer) have specific place in Azerbaijan national music. Mugams are foundation of Azerbaijan national music. It is not accidental that UNESCO, specialized organization of UN, entered Azerbaijan mugam into the list of world cultural heritage. Our national music has been developing along with literature since ancient times. For instance, mugam developed along with with Eastern poesy. Thus, singers, performed mugam, recited ghazals (a kind of poem) by Azerbaijan well-known poets as Nizami, Khagani, Fuzuli, Nasimi. Poetic forms of national poesy like Garayli, divani, tadjnis along with goshma, mukhammas, ustadnama, gafilband are ashugs' favor forms. Works of art, created by classics and contemporaries, take honorable place in world cultural treasure. Works by M.F.Akhundov, N.Vazirov, M.S.Ordubadi, G.Zakir, M.A.Sabir, J.Mammadguluzade, M.P.Vagif, M.V.Vidadi and other poets and writers hasn't lost their aesthetic importance.
One of the art kinds, related with Azerbaijan literature, is theatre. The roots of Azerbaijan theatre art related with people's activity, mode of life, solemn and wedding traditions, range of vision. Elements of spectacle in rites, ceremonies and games took important role in popular theatre. It was realistic and related with working categories. Repertoire of popular theatre consisted of short spectacles of ethic content. Popular theatre played important part in establishment of Azerbaijan professional theatre. Roots of theatre art, dated to old times, started with spectacles "Vizier of Lankaran khanate" and "Hadji Gara" by M.F.Akhundov, staged in Baku in March and April 1973. Repertoire of Azerbaijan theatre, passed difficult way of development, has neen enriched now. Different spectacles, amazing spectators, are staged in Academic National Dramatic Theatre, Municipal Theatre, Pantomime Theatre, Theatre of Young Spectators and etc.
The history of Azerbaijani cinema is part of the history of Azerbaijani culture. National cinematography opens bottoms of human heart and new live horizons. It gained great experience year-by-year and created number of different works, reflecting our people's life and problems. These films were kept for future generations and became people's spiritual knowledge.
Azerbaijan fine art is old and rich as history of our people. Research of theatre, cinema, music and folk art, passed long and difficult way of development, proves high cultural heritage of Azerbaijan people. Culture and fine art workers of Azerbaijan always make efforts to spread our culture to world and has achieved it partly. Entering of Azerbaijan mugam into world cultural heritage by UNESCO, rewarding of well-known film master R.Ibrahimbayov, screenwriter and producer by "Oscar" and keeping of manual works and carpets, made by popular masters in famous museums of the world are obvious proves.
Architecture and sculpture
Architecture - is a system of buildings and structures that create a spatial environment for human life and activity. It is the art of creating buildings and structures in accordance with the laws of beauty. Along with monumental architecture, folk architecture has also developed throughout history. Folk architecture, which reflects the lifestyle and aesthetic views of the people to whom it belongs, has become an inexhaustible source of creativity for monumental architecture.
History of architecture
The history of architecture begins with natural caves inhabited by primitive people. The caves located in the foothills of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in Azerbaijan, in the Talish Mountains, Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Zangilan, Kalbajar, Gadabay, Khanlar, Shamakhi regions, and finally Azykh cave in the Fizuli region are examples for this.
Along with the oldest settlements found in Gobustan (caves, various primitive shelters, etc.), megalithic architectural monuments - cromlexes, menhirs (shepherd's stone), dolmens and cyclops are widespread in Azerbaijan. These natural constructions, made of high stones, are popularly called "fortress" or "braided stone". Defense structures named Chalkhangala near the city of Nakhchivan (Bronze Age) and Oghlangala (II-I millennia BC) on the Garatapa wall on the bank of the Arpachay belong to the cyclopean structures. Castle buildings (Bastam, Danali, Galaoglu, etc.) were also found in the territory of South Azerbaijan, near Araz river.
In the territory of Azerbaijan In the IX-VII centuries, cities were formed, defensive structures and magnificent castle walls were built. The complex of monuments in the Hasanli region, the study of tombs carved into the rocks on the shores of Lake Urmia, shows that the type of houses with a balcony was formed in Azerbaijan in the VII century. Of all the other architectural structures of the time, the altar of fire, the only religious building, has survived to the present day.
Since the 7th century, the development of architecture has changed in connection with the spread of Islam in Azerbaijan. In architecture, new types of buildings like mosques, madrassas, tombs, caravanserais, etc. has been the main line in construction. During this period, along with Islamic buildings, Christian temples and defensive fortifications were built in some provinces of Caucasian Albania. Among them are Javanshir fortress in the territory of present-day Ismayilli region (about VII century), fortress complex near Yukhari Askipara village of Gazakh region (V-VIII centuries), Albanian temples in Boyuk Amirli village of Gabala region (IV-VIII centuries), Albanian church in Oguz city (medieval ages), Albanian church in Khojavand region of Karabakh (I century), etc. attracts attention.
About sculpture
Sculpture is one of the types of fine arts. In sculpture, a person or any object of depiction is created in a three-dimensional form. Usually, the possibilities of sculpture depicting human and sometimes animal (animalistic genre) are somewhat limited compared to painting. There are two main types of sculptures: volumetric or round sculptures; relief sculptures. The basic plan, plane of light, mass and size play a big role in getting the statue better.
Various materials are used to make the sculptures: stone (marble, limestone, sandstone, granite, etc.), wood, bone, metal (bronze, iron, bronze, etc.), clay, burnt clay, ceramics (terracotta, majolica, pottery, porcelain, etc.), gypsum and other materials. In addition to traditional materials, modern sculpture uses completely different materials. There are those who make monuments from glass, ice, snow and paper.
In general, 3 areas of sculpture are known. 1. Monumental. 2. Decorative. 3. Machine sculpture.
The most primitive form of sculpture is stone figures. Stone human figures belonging to the Middle Ages, found around the cities of Shamakhi and Aghdam, are considered to be a more perfect example of our sculpture. Samples of stone carvings in Bayil Castle (XIII century), horse and ram figures placed on tombs (XV-XIX centuries) can also be considered a new and memorable page of our sculpture. There is a stone ram statue made in memory of Safarali, who died in 1088 AH (1677-1678 AD) in Bilav village of Ordubad region of Nakhchivan. It is clear from the signature on the monument that the ram statue was made by Abid. A part of the numerous stone ram-type tombstones of the 17th century, which still remain in the village cemetery, was made by this sculptor, Abid, who lived in that century.
Among the most famous examples of sculpture is the architectural monument of the Shirvanshahs "Bayil Castle" or "Sabail", built in the XIII century in the port of Baku. The inscriptions and reliefs on these monuments played a decisive role in the decorative design of the building. Along with the inscriptions on the "Bayil stones", the images of human and animals (tiger, camel, horse, ox, bird) are carved in a deep carving style. Frieze-shaped "Bayil stones" were once a decorative element of a magnificent architectural monument on land.
History of the development of sculpture in Azerbaijan
The art school opened in Baku and the acquisition of sculpture by local staff in various central cities of the USSR played an important role in creating the current state of sculpture.
Bringing Azerbaijani sculptors together and uniting them around one organization fell to the Soviet era. But before that, there were connoisseurs of plastic art in Azerbaijan. Recent research proves that sculpture works were created in Azerbaijan before 1920. These samples were created by folk artists, as well as professional sculptors and art critics educated in Russia and Europe.
There are still unknown sculptors who also worked during the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR). Due to the inability to implement all projects in the short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, there is no accurate information about the works themselves or the authors. However, there is enough information in the sources about the existence of these projects. For example, the first professional sculptor Zeynal Alizadeh was actively involved in the creation of the state emblem, a number of orders and medals. After the formation of modern professional sculpture in Azerbaijan, a number of monumental statues were erected in Baku, and national sculptural staff was formed. In the 1920s and 1930s, sculptures were erected in Baku with the participation of Ibrahim Guliyev, one of the first Azerbaijani sculptors, as well as Elizabeth Tripolskaya, Pinhos Sabsay and other sculptors living in Azerbaijan.
Sculpture education
The sculpture department of the Azerbaijan State University of Arts was separated from the school and the Azerbaijan Academy of Arts was established. At present, talented sculptors are trained at the university, which is headed by academician Omar Eldarov.
Among the 100-120 scuptor members of the Union of Artists, there are sculptors who represented in both the professional and folk art departments. The latter are engaged in creating drawings and other works on granite, marble and other means. At least 5-6 solo exhibitions of a sculptor must be held who wishing to become a member of the Union of Artists.
