Mirza Gadim Iravani

Mirza Gadim Iravani
Birth name	Gadim Mammad Huseyn oglu
Born	1825 Erivan, Khanate of Erevan
Died	1875 Erivan, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire
Nationality	Azerbaijani
Field	Panel painting
Influenced	Azerbaijani panel painting

"Portrait of young man". The middle of the 19th century. Baku, Rustam Mustafayev Azerbaijan State Museum of Art

Mirza Gadim Iravani,^[1] (Azerbaijani: Mirzə Qədim Məmməd-Hüseyn oğlu İrəvani ^[2], 1825, Erivan — 1875, Erivan) was an Azerbaijani ornamentalist artist and portraitist, founder of Azerbaijani panel painting, whose works greatly influenced Azerbaijani visual art of the modern period.

Iravani is famed both for his pictures-stencils for embroidery, mural paintings, jewelry, lacquer paintings and glass paintings. His most famous works are portraits Sitting Woman,^[3] Young man, Fath Ali Shah" and four big portraits painted in oil, in 1850s, on the walls of the Palace of Erivan sardars.

Biography

Gadim Mammad Huseyn oglu was born in 1825, in the city Erivan in the Khanate of Erevan (later incorporated in the Russian Empire). He did not receive professional art education, and he became famous due his natural taste and talent.^[4] Besides his artistic activity Irevani worked as a telegraphist at post office.

Creativity

Mirza Gadim Iravani's creativity evidences the origination of easel forms in Azerbaijani art. However some of his works, such as the portraits Sitting woman and Young man painted in watercolors and kept in Baku, in the Rustam Mustafayev Azerbaijan State Museum of Art were created in the middle of the 19th century and are more related to traditions of medieval miniature.

Iravani expressed great interest in human's view. He portrayed humans not against a conditional flat background, but on the three-dimensional space of the specific interior. Such a usage of volumetric-plastic modelling of the form and presentation of similarity with model evidenced of significant turn, which was noticed in Azerbaijani art of the modern period ^[5] and overcoming the traditions of conditionality and flatness of the picture.^[6] Among the works of Mirza Gadim Irevani are famous pictures in the Palace of Sardar in Erivan, including four portraits of Fath Ali Shah, Abbas Mirza, Mah Tellet Khanim and Vajullah Mirza. Besides these works, the portrait of an unknown soldier was also painted. The palace was destroyed in 1914 (including four portraits on the walls of the palace) and the pictures of the portraits have only survived in copies.

Iravani's works, such as Female dancer (Azerbaijani: Rəqqasə), Darvish, Strongman (Azerbaijani: Pəhlivan), and Cavalryman (Azerbaijani: Süvari) are also famous.

Gallery

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  Portraits in the Palace of Sardar in Irevan

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  "Portrait of sitting woman", Tempera, 1870's, Rustam Mustafayev Azerbaijan State Museum of Art

References

1. ^ "The development of fine arts in XIX century and first half of XX century". The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan. http://www.mct.gov.az/?/en/azculture/view/87/. 
2. ^ "Mirzə Qədim İravani". Adam.az. http://adam.az/az.php?subaction=showfull&id=1287577936&archive=&start_from=&ucat=23,29,53&go=headlines&category=53. 
3. ^ "Эривани Мирза Кадым Мамед-Гусейн оглы". Академик. http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enc_pictures/3810/Эривани. 
4. ^ "Творчество М.К.Эривани нашедшее отражение в исследованиях К.Керимова.". ATI. 15.05.11. http://tourism.edu.az/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=85. 
5. ^ "Искусство Азербайджана". http://artyx.ru/books/item/f00/s00/z0000019/st016.shtml. 
6. ^ "Эривани Мирза Кадым Мамед-Гусейн оглы". Большая Советская Энциклопедия. http://bse.sci-lib.com/article126999.html. 

Persondata
Name	Iravani, Mirza Gadim
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1825
Place of birth	Erivan, Khanate of Erevan
Date of death	1875
Place of death	Erivan, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire