Gülüstan 1965

Sattar Bahlulzade made this painting, Gülüstan, which translates as 'flower garden,' using oil on canvas. Just look at all those flowers and birds painted with gentle daubs of white and blue! It's like Bahlulzade was in conversation with the Impressionists, but then he added his own twist. I can imagine him standing there, brush in hand, layering these strokes of paint one by one, almost obsessively, until this dreamy landscape emerged. I get a sense of endless space and movement, but also of a very tender observation. There's something really moving and uplifting about the painting, maybe it comes from his deep appreciation for the natural world. His paintings are testaments to the fact that the act of painting is itself a form of inquiry, a way of both seeing and feeling the world.