Togrul Narimanbekov

Togrul Farman oglu Narimanbekov (Azerbaijani: Toğrul Fərman oğlu Nərimanbəyov, Russian: Тогрул Нариманбеков; August 7, 1930 – June 2, 2013) was one of the prominent modern Azerbaijani artists.

Narimbanbeyov was born in Baku. His father, Farman Narimanbeyov, studied in Toulouse; in 1929 he came back to Baku and participated in the construction of Mingechevir Hydro Power Plant, but in the 1930s was sentenced to imprisonment. His wife Irma, a Frenchwoman, was exiled to Uzbekistan and stayed there till 1961.

Toghrul Narimanbeyov studied at Azerbaijan Art School named after Azim Azimzade, then, from 1950 to 1955, at Lithuania Institute of Fine Arts.

He is the laureate of the USSR State Prize (1980) and People's Artist of Azerbaijan (1967). At present he lives in Paris and has a French citizenship.

He assumed that, it is necessary for arts to return to origins of national culture. He described his creativity as a combination of abstract and figurative arts.

Esmer Nerimanbeyova his daughter from the first marriage is Honoured Artist of Azerbaijan and associate professor of Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts.

Besides artistic activity, Narimanbeyov had excellent voice and he performed various arias of Azerbaijani and foreign composers in his youth. In August 2010, he was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honour of Azerbaijan. He died, aged 82, in Paris.