Thursday, November 14, 2019

Suzanis in Art

Recently I posted an article about Ikat Textiles in Art. It was hugely popular, so I thought I would follow it up with this piece on suzanis depicted in artworks.

suzanis in art works, uzbekistan emborideries suzanis, art craft textile tours uzbekistan
Suzani Background, Robert Falk, 1943

The Robert Falk oil on canvas, above, is displayed in the Karakalpakstan State Museum of Art, Nukus, named after I.V. Savitsky.

During WWII Falk was evacuated to Bashkiriya with the Jewish Theatre. From there he moved to Samarkand, where he taught in the School of Fine Arts.

Igor Savitsky, a graduate of the Moscow Institute of Art was also evacuated to Samarkand in the same period. He was painting the same model as Falk.

The young model preferred the portrait by Falk as she thought it made her beautiful and subsequently Savitsky destroyed his painting.

suzanis in art works, uzbekistan emborideries suzanis, art craft textile tours uzbekistan
Bukhara Masters, P.I. Kotov, 1920s

P. I. Kotov travelled extensively in Central Asia in the 1920s. The painting above now hangs in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

The portrait below of Munzim Mirzo Abduvahid Burkhan Zade was painted in 1912 by Dimitriev - no other name details are known. It is hanging in Bukhara's Contemporary Art Museum. Very little is known of the artist. However, the artist has captured a face full of vigour with thoughtful eyes, his arm gently resting on a suzani.

suzanis in art works, uzbekistan emborideries suzanis, art craft textile tours uzbekistan
 Portrait of Munzim Mirzo Abduvahid Burkhan Zade,  1912 by Dimitriev

Pavel Benkov came to Bukhara in 1928 and then settled in Samarkand in 1930.  It was a richly creative period in the artist's life and many portraits were undertaken that were exhibited in Moscow in 1961.

suzanis in art works, uzbekistan emborideries suzanis, art craft textile tours uzbekistan
Emir Official, Pavel Benkov 1929

suzanis in art works, uzbekistan emborideries suzanis, art craft textile tours uzbekistan
Samarkand Suzani Embroidery, Samarkand painter Namoz Sultanov.

With the recent rise of travel in Central Asia and export of suzanis and ikat textiles around the world, suzanis appear in contemporary art pieces. A selection is below.


suzanis in art works, uzbekistan emborideries suzanis, art craft textile tours uzbekistan
Watermelon, Bananas, Suzani, Janet Fish 2009  

suzanis in art works, uzbekistan emborideries suzanis, art craft textile tours uzbekistan
Suzani, 2018 Carlo Russo

suzanis in art works, uzbekistan emborideries suzanis, art craft textile tours uzbekistan
Suzani Chair,  Linda Arthurs

Related posts:
Ikat Textiles in Art
The Birth of Suzani - Madina Kasimbaeva's Exhibition, Tashkent
Uzbek Suzanis: Like Flowers in the Sand 
Valentino Haute Couture Meets Suzani