Flowers 

Mahmud Taghiyev rendered this nameless drawing of Flowers with wax crayon on paper at an unknown date. Taghiyev spent his artistic career in Azerbaijan, a nation that endured Soviet rule for much of the twentieth century, and his art can be understood within that context. What does it mean to create a still life of flowers during a period when artistic expression was heavily monitored and instrumentalized? The answer may lie in the deceptively apolitical nature of the subject matter. A bouquet of flowers could be seen as an endorsement of natural beauty and a celebration of the everyday, yet it also allowed for a degree of artistic freedom in its interpretation. The bold colors and rough strokes in this drawing perhaps demonstrate the artist's desire for individual expression within the confines of a restrictive artistic environment. To fully understand the social implications of Taghiyev's Flowers, one must consider the political and cultural landscape of Soviet Azerbaijan, along with its legacy of censorship and control over artistic production. This can be achieved through careful study of historical documents and archives, and a critical analysis of the role of art within a totalitarian regime.