Maral Rahmanzade

Maral Yusif gizi Rahmanzade (Azerbaijani: Maral Yusif qızı Rəhmanzadə; 1916–2008) was an Azerbaijani graphic artist, People's Artist of Azerbaijan (1964), and recipient of the State Prize.

Maral Rahmanzade was born on July 23, 1916 in the Mardakan township near Baku. From 1930 to 1933 she studied at the Azerbaijan State Technical School of Arts and from 1934 through to 1940 she continued her education at the Moscow State Institute of Arts. Her most productive area was within the graphic genre, particularly in lithography and coloured linoprints . Rahmanzade created series of easel paintings of patriotic content during the Great Patriotic War. One of the series is dedicated to the Soviet women during the wartime, including "People's volunteer corps", "Women in the ranks", "Partisan's daughter", and "Radio operator". Other series, consisting of 19 lists, were dedicated to the work of people and the home front: “Work on the farm”, “Social activists”, and “The artists performing for the front-line soldiers”. Women working at machines in factories are depicted in “Wives Substitute Husbands”. These paintings were made by the artist in the art of black watercolors with following elaboration with coal. In 1940s, Rahmanzade worked on illustration of belles-lettres. In 1945, she designed the books “Dehname” by Khatai and "The land of fires" by Zohrabbeyov. More successfully. she worked on poetic images of women in "Dehname". Rahmanzade portrayed poet Khatai, the author of the book, in two illustrations: on one of them his portrait is in profile and on the other the poet is portrayed with a pen in hand in a poetic atmosphere of night. Rahmanzade portrayed circumstances, landscape, architecture, and costumes on numerous illustrations of “The land of fires” novel, following the literary description. Riders were portrayed on the first illustration, on the left side of a list. A pictorial panorama of a bay and a mysterious tower to which landlady they were going opened in front of their eyes. During these years Maral Rahmanzade created illustrations to Jafar Jabbarly's "Maiden tower" and "Gulzar" works. In the post-war period Rahmanzade intensively worked in the sphere of easel graphic. In 1947, series of "Petroleum" autolithography consisting of 10 lists which showed the history of petroleum land was exhibited on jubilee exhibition for the first time. The series beginning with "Fire worshippers" composition representing a scene of worship to eternal fire. Other lists of these series are "A new enterprise", "On the oilrig", "Jack-pump", "Fountain hammered to a pipe". In 1948, Maral Rahmanzade finished series called "Socialistic Baku", consisting of 10 lists. It included industrial and urban landscapes, and also such genre compositions as "Shift of a vigil", "Day of a vigil", "In construction of a new house". Journeys to "Oil rocks" were productive for the artist. Maral Rahmanzade was the first artist who went to work in "Oil Rocks". Being among oilmen, overseeing their working days, their everyday life, she painted field landscapes of the Caspian Sea, construction of scaffold bridges, oil tanks, towers, pouring of oil. On a report exhibition she presented drawings and watercolor paintings, portraying more typical episodes of working life of oilmen of the Caspian Sea. Besides the citizens of Baku, workers of "Oil Rocks" also saw these paintings, as they were dedicated to them. Rahmanzade created series of autolithographs called "Here-in the Caspian Sea". An album, consisting of 15 colourful lithographs from these series was published in Moscow. Verticals of towers, steel scaffold bridges, shining mirror-like surface of the sea were described on "In the open sea" lithograph. The artist portrayed hard life of workers, distinctive life of oilmen on "On-duty boat", "The food is brought", "To a storm-zone" paintings. These series of lithographs brought a broad fame to Rahmanzade and were exhibited in the All-Union and foreign exhibitions for many times.

Maral is the eldest sister of sculptor and honouree of the Academy of Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Vagif Rakhmanov. She is the Aunt of acclaimed Canadian singer songwriter and visual artist Deniz Reno (aka Deniz Rakhmanova), Kazakh-German painter Nargis Rakhmanova-Dresslerand Kazakh artisan Aigul Rakhmanova.

In 1950, Rahmanzade designed two volume poem of Jafar Jabbarly. She created a lot of lists, portraying personages of "Sevil", "Almaz", "Withered flowers" plays of Jafar Jabbarly. M.F.Akhundov's historical play "Aldanmish Kevakib" ("Deceived stars") was published in that very year with illustrations of Maral Rahmanzade. Maral Rahmanzade illustrated also translated publications – "Eugene Onegin" of A.S.Pushkin, "A Hero of Our Time" M.Y.Lermontov. At the end of 1950s Maral Rahmanzade created series of colorful autholithographs called "Baku". Urban parks and squares, panoramas of marine oil fields are portrayed on these lists. "Baku" series were for the first time exhibited on the exhibition dedicated to Decade of Azerbaijani literature and arts in 1959, in Moscow. At that time Maral Rahmanzade worked on autolithographs dedicated to Czechoslovakia, among which were distinguished such landscapes as "A winter day of Karlovy Vary", "A street in Cheb city", "Central square of Cheb city", "Richmond sanatorium" and others. Lithographs of Czechoslovakia series were exhibited on Republican exhibition "The world through the eyes of Azerbaijani artists" in 1961, and also on group exhibition dedicated to Czechoslovakia in Moscow.

In subsequent years, M.Rahmanzade worked in the technique of linocut. First works made in this type of arts she dedicated to giant-factories of two young cities – Sumqayit and Rustavi. Each of two series consists of six industrial and urban landscapes and two portraits portraying front-rank workers. In 1960s, the artist visited a lot of remote regions of Azerbaijan. New series of colored linocuts were result of these visits: “My Motherland” and “Azerbaijan”. A lot of paintings of these series were dedicated to Nakhchivan. Plough-land, furrow lines leading to the river, and a village stretched across the river were portrayed in one of these landscapes. In other linocut the artist portrayed a new way in the mountains:high-tension transmission line and highway on the background of beautiful rocks. Landscape of Khinalig village in the northern part of Azerbaijan was also described in these series besides the landscapes of Nakhchivan. In this remote village, surrounded by cliffs, with fair-roofed houses on the top of mountain, as if they had been built on each other. The artist learnt everyday life of residents of Khnialig, and painted with watercolors a lot. In these linocuts the artist portrayed laqndscapes of the village, mountains eternally covered with snow, steeps, simple formed buildings, residents in national costumes. In 1956, M.S.Ordubadi's historical novel "A Sword and Pen" illustrated by M.Rahmanzade was published in Baku. In 1963, she illustrated academic publications of "Azerbaijani fairytales".