Azerbaijan National Museum of Art: On the history of foundation

Abstract

The article briefly gives the history of the creation of the Azerbaijan National Museum of Art, one of the largest museums in the country. The museum has a rich collection of Russian, Western European, Eastern and Azerbaijani art. The collection has been formed throughout the existence of the museum, but its foundation was laid back in the Azgosmusey. A certain part of the collection is made up of exhibits transferred to the museum during the USSR period, a cultural policy that relied on the education of the masses, regardless of nationality and region. A descriptive description of the exhibition activities of the museum is given, in which both collections of Russian and foreign museums were exhibited in different years. In various years, the museum hosted exhibitions of the fraternal republics, as well as China, India, Iran. After each exhibition, the museum’s collection was replenished with new exhibits. The museum constantly held and held personal exhibitions of representatives of various schools of painting in Azerbaijan. The country’s artists are proud that their paintings are exhibited and stored in one of the country’s major museums. In the context of the article, a special place is given to the work of the first theater artist R.Mustafayev, whose name the museum bore for many decades, and whose works are kept in his collection. Unfortunately, the name of this talented artist is little known to the younger generation, although his contribution to the development of national scenography and the protection of architectural monuments is invaluable. Thanks to his artistic flair, the performances “Koroglu” and “Arshin Mal Alan” designed by him have been successfully staged on the stage of various theaters. Тhe analysis of his work is an important
thematic contribution to the history of the study of the Azerbaijan National Museum of Art.

Keywords:

museum, opera, scenography, scenery, collection, formalism, realism, staging, Rustam Mustafaev, Uzeir Hajibekov, UNESCO