Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

If you think about where to go on weekend and how to spend effective time in Baku, then visiting the house-museum of one of the most talented Azerbaijani artist Tahir Salahov would a good idea for you.

Born in Baku and living in Moscow Salahov is the world-renowned artist, who sensitively catches the rhythms of life and able to listen and hear the time. Salahov is the master of portraits, landscape pictures, still-life paintings and large many-figured paintings.

His masterpieces has an estimated value of hundred thousands of dollars in different world famous auction houses.

The three-storeyed museum, which preserves the wonderful atmosphere of peace and harmony, attracts the art enthusiasts with 735 exhibits.

Everything including Salahov’s original and copy paintings, old carpets with a unique images and even furniture is standing on the same place, in the house, which Salahov left five years ago.

Here in the museum you can find old national kitchen utensils, bedding as well as the sewing machines of his mother, which helped her save the lives of five children in the years of repression and hungry years of war.

The director of the museum Saadat Mirzoyeva says Tahir Salakhov is a unique personality, which she has never met before. She believes that the origin of the artist’s collection is historical.

“Once, walking through the Old City, Salahov saw the tourists buying Azerbaijan’s folk art masterpieces, which they were taking away to the countries.

Then, he decided that he must also purchase these unique patterns in order to preserve them for posterity. I do not think one can see something similar like these carpets in the museum somewhere else. Salahov saved them for us, for our descendants, as they are a part of our lives and history,” she said.

It’s not so difficult to find the museum: If you get to the Shirvanshahs museum and carefully look around, you will certainly see a sign with an arrow, prompting the way to the museum and further at 55/3 Ilyas Efendiyev street you will see the table entitling House Museum of Tahir Salakhov. Here the representative of modern Azerbaijani painting school, lived and created his impressive paintings.

Since 2012 the museum is opened for tourists during weekdays from 10:00 to 18:00. Due to quite affordable price, the museum has become a favorite place for students, ordinary Bakunians, and foreign tourists walking through the Old City. Ticket price for adults is 2 manat (about $1.30), for students is 60 kopecks ($0.40), for pupils is 20 kopecks ($0.10).

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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