Portrait of Zlatyu Boyadzhiev
Fund of the National Gallery, Sofia, 1976.
“Portrait of Zlatyu Boyadzhiev” is made of bronze material, the dimensions are 56/26/32 cm., inv. number IV322. This work was purchased from the General Art Exhibition “Man and Work” on 04/19/1976 for BGN 900.00.
Viktor Todorov made two portraits of Zlatyu Boyadzhiev. One is in the possession of City Art Gallery Plovdiv, and the one we are looking at here is in the National Gallery in Sofia. What is interesting in this case is that the Plovdiv one is made of plaster, and the Sofia one is made of bronze. If the viewer does not know this fact, it would be difficult to judge which material is which without touching it. To draw a comparison between the two portraits is unnecessary. Both heads – portraits are different states of the same model, and what a model it was. Ivan Totev, Viktor Todorov’s student remembers: “If Zlatyu hadn’t stopped posing for me at one point, I would probably have ruined it (the portrait), Viktor admitted to me later.” – Stanev, Stefan. Names from the city of the artists 3. Plovdiv, Stovi, 2014, p.36
I remember that in the 1960s, when I still did not go to school, my father would wake me up early in the morning and we used to go to the Milk Bar in Plovdiv, where he met Zlatyu Boyadzhiev. I had no relation to coffee then, and my father made me try it. I then complained to my mother that my stomach hurt because of this, and of course there was a family argument afterwards… I remember that Zlatyu was sitting at the table next to the window, with his back to the wall. They talked to each other, Zlatyu, my father and other colleagues about all kinds of topics, professional and life. That’s how many mornings began.
The portrait merits of both heads are indisputable and confirm the plastic skills of Viktor Todorov.
We thank Milko Dobrev, chief curator at the National Gallery, for the provided information and photos.
See all zoomable photos here:
