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www.bakusun.az Mikail Mammedalievich Guseynov began painting at the age of five. After finishing school, he worked as an oil laborer up until his mid-thirties, when he was unable to ignore his artistic calling any longer, trading in oil work for oil paint.
“A lot of time I devoted to working in the oil and gas industry, but at the same time I remembered pictures and after 35 years, in1983, I began to study in St. Petersburg,” he says.
Now, 56, Guysenov continues to paint a myriad of works in his studio, focusing on landscapes, still-life and portraits, his focus of study from 1983–1986.
“I like portraits, landscapes and still life,” says the artist. “But there is only one moment when I like a painting the best. This is when another likes it and it gives them glory and enjoyment, for them for me, glory.”
Three pictures he classifies amongst his favorites; the first is his diploma work of “Madonna with a Flower,” the second is his self portrait, and the third is “Pilgrimmage to Mecca” with its vibrant sunset and haunting shadows.
Inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci, it is clear that Gusseynov has a gift for bringing forth a classical style to life once more in a world where modern art seems to have overtaken tradition. His works also boast a collection of colorful sketches covering a variety of themes.But there is something magical about the results of when Guseynov puts brush to oil and canvas. His simple landscape scenes lead the imagination beyond the physical limits of the images, and in his simple painted homes in the distance, it is easy to believe that even here Azeri life is ongoing near the waterfalls that seem to emit sounds. Overall, his works are examples of something that is pleasant to look at time and time again.
Half Azeri and half Russian, he was born and raised in Baku, enthralled from early childhood by stories about heroes and legends; many of which he now depicts in his work, like replicas of historical moments such as when Alexander Nevsky captured Teutonic soldiers after a great battle in 1242, and the “Castle with Norman troops” in near modern day Zabrat, on the Absheron Peninsula. There are also landscape oil paintings of the Centaur and the Centaur bridge in a St. Petersburg park, Azerbaijani country scenes with herdsmen and sunrises.
But it is perhaps his interpretation of buildings and structures that are the most illustrative of his abilities. The perspective of Old city buildings and oil structures show aptitude towards Guseynov’s work and dedication as an artist. |
