Volume 03 Issue 03-2023
15
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
03
I
SSUE
03
Pages:
15-20
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2021:
5.
993
)
(2022:
6.
015
)
(2023:
7.
164
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
ABSTRACT
The article is devoted to the historical and cultural study of three portraits of the poet Alisher Navoi, created in the
last century by Uzbek artists V.Kaydalov, A.Adullayev and A.Mamatova.
KEYWORDS
Alisher Navoi, poetry, spirituality, people, language, scientists, portrait, art, works, personality, history, color,
completeness.
INTRODUCTION
Having come upstairs to the second floor, along the
front staircase of the State Museum of Literature
named after Alisher Navoi, in the depth of the hall by
the window one can see a magnificent portrait created
by Vladimir Kaidalov in 1947. When we talk about the
epoch of Alisher Navoi, we, first of all, should, in detail,
focus on the personality of the poet himself.
Getting acquainted with the literary heritage of Alisher
Navoi (1441-1501), which has a great enlightenment and
educational significance, which grows with every
century not only in his homeland in Central Asia, but
also far beyond its borders, we remember, first of all,
with the gratitude of his teachers - thinkers and poets.
THE MAIN RESULTS AND FINDINGS
They had a decisive influence on his becoming as broad
and deep-thinking person looking far ahead in the
future. This is Mir Kasim Anvari - a poet who was very
Research Article
STUDY OF THREE PORTRAITS OF THE GREAT POET OF THE MIDDLE
AGES, ALISHER NAVOI
Submission Date:
March 10, 2023,
Accepted Date:
March 15, 2023,
Published Date:
March 20, 2023
Crossref doi:
https://doi.org/10.37547/ajsshr/Volume03Issue03-05
U.N. Mamatov
Researcher, National Institute Of Art And Design Named After Kamoliddin Behzod, Uzbekistan
Journal
Website:
https://theusajournals.
com/index.php/ajsshr
Copyright:
Original
content from this work
may be used under the
terms of the creative
commons
attributes
4.0 licence.
Volume 03 Issue 03-2023
16
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
03
I
SSUE
03
Pages:
15-20
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2021:
5.
993
)
(2022:
6.
015
)
(2023:
7.
164
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
appreciated by the people and pursued by the rulers
for a sharp tongue, for the truthfulness of his work. We
remember the poet-thinker Farididdin Attor, whose
literary work was loved by the young Alisher Navoi,
especially his book "Khikmatlar" - "Sacrament".
A disciple and admirer of the poetry of Alisher Navoi
Khondamir, in the work dedicated to the great poet
"Makorim ul-akhlok" - "Righteousness", brought an
interesting episode from the poet's youth. Ninety-
eight-year-old poet Mavlono Lutfi, who wrote in Turkic
and Persian languages and was considered the king of
the words of his time, after hearing a couplet from the
mouth of a young, twelve-year-old Alisher Navoi:
While your face is open, there will be no tears in my
eyes,
Until the sun goes down, there will be no stars in
heaven…
He was so delighted with the perfection and harmony
of the sound of the beit that he expressed his
admiration for these words: "I am ready to give all my
twelve thousand beits for this one couplet" and with
these words he blessed the young poet" . One can give
an analogy, as two and a half centuries later, in Russia,
at the final examination of the lyceum in Tsarskoe Selo
near St. Petersburg, the famous Russian poet, ninety-
year-old Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin, blessed
another great poet, Alexander Pushkin, for a literary
creativity. Pushkin (1799-1837) mentioned it in his verse
novel "Evgeny Onegin": "The old man Derzhavin
noticed us and in the coffin going down, blessed" .
History repeated itself!
"So, the true poetry entered into the life of Alisher
Navoi from childhood and forever, the future creator
of brilliant artistic values, which, like anything that is
beyond the power of even the all-powerful time, are
immortal" wrote in the foreword to the poems of
Alisher Navoi, Academician Vakhid Zakhidov" .
Many scholars who studied the creative heritage of
Alisher Navoi at various times, hold the opinion that it
was devoted mainly to chanting of earthly love. A
prominent scientist - orientalist (turkologist, iranist),
Evgeny Eduardovich Bertels (1890-1957), despite the
criticism of scientists, argued in his scientific works, the
truth and greatness of the Alisher Navoi poetry.
He cited the statements of Abdurakhman Jami, who
compared the great poet Alisher Navoi to the biblical
prophet Yusuf, whom the Lord bestowed enormous
opportunities: power, wealth, talent, by virtue of
which he could not deal only with love lyrics. Fifty
thousand beyts - poems by the great poet Alisher
Navoi, were dedicated to the Sufi love of God. The
poet, by virtue of the depth of his thinking, the breadth
of his outlook, outstripped his epoch for many
centuries ahead in his views. The creative legacy of the
poet called for the perfection of all spiritual,
intellectual and physical qualities of man and this is
what had, has and will have, the main importance in the
future in the education and upbringing of the
individual.
The lifetime portraits of great men, created in the East
in past time by talented artists, were highly
appreciated in the world of fine art. They are full of
direct impressions of the artist from the portrayed
personalities and truly reflected not only the character
of the person, but also the environment in which they
lived. These works often reproduced architecture,
interiors of palaces, objects of applied art, mountains,
valleys, parks and gardens, in which flowers and trees
were cultivated. They served as a backdrop for
portrayed personalities. These are miniature portraits
of Shakh Bobur, created by Indian miniaturists. They
include the portrait of the poet - the ruler of Herat
Volume 03 Issue 03-2023
17
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
03
I
SSUE
03
Pages:
15-20
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2021:
5.
993
)
(2022:
6.
015
)
(2023:
7.
164
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
Khussein Baikara, who ruled it in the middle of the
fifteenth century, performed by the brush of the artist
Kamoliddin Bekhzod, as well as the portrait of Alisher
Navoi, made by his disciple, Makhmud Muzakhhib.
Subsequently, in the middle of the twentieth century,
a miniature of Makhmud Muzakhhib depicting a great
poet inspired a number of Uzbek masters of fine art to
create a whole gallery of images of Alisher Navoi.
Let's consider some of them. One of the first portraits
was created in the postwar period by the artist Vladimir
Kaydalov. These were hard years for the country, when
it healed the deep wounds inflicted by the war, but in
general the people experienced a big inspiration from
the victory over fascism in the Second World War. On
this emotional wave, this portrait was created by the
master. In December 1941, in the besieged city of
Leningrad, the great scientists and orientalists
gathered in the Hermitage, under the chairmanship of
Academician I.A. Orbeli, to mark the anniversary of the
great poet Alisher Navoi. His verses and poems were
heard under the arches of the Hermitage, which are
still relevant today. They sang the love of life,
friendship, the human mind and its victory over the
forces of darkness.
Understand the people of the whole earth: enmity is a
bad thing,
Live in friendship among themselves - there is no better
destiny.
In the world, at different times and in different
countries, great people lived, creating and suffering,
with an steadfast faith in the bright future of mankind.
The poet Alisher Navoi was one of them. The portrait
by V.Kaydalov reflects the image of the poet who could
express the following thoughts in words of full faith in
the possibility of harmonious development of
mankind: "Darkness will be shined with light, you
believe in it and be steadfast".
The portrait was created in a multilayered classical
manner with oil paints. A great love for the person
depicted is felt in it. Alisher Navoi sits at the carved
polygonal table, there are books and writing materials
on it. It painted in a soft, warm color. Wine-colored,
velvet robe with large folds at the knees and at the
elbow bend is the dominant spot of the picture, it is
very delicate in color. The most remarkable thing in this
portrait is the face of the poet, it seems to irradiate
goodness and light from within. The poet's view on the
portrait rushes far ahead, as if he saw something
beautiful and fascinating. According to Uzbek
scientists and artists, this portrait is the most fully
reflecting the personality of the great poet, although it
must be admitted that it is different in character from
the lifetime portrait of the miniaturist Makhmud
Muzakhhib.
The next portrait of the poet Alisher Navoi is a portrait
of the artist Abdulkhak Abdullayev, written in the 80-
90 years of the last century. This portrait is also the
property of the State Museum of Literature named
after Alisher Navoi of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences.
Master of Fine Arts, he was one of the leading
portraitists of Uzbekistan of his time and it was natural
for him to appeal to the image of the poet.
The artist made many variants of the portrait of the
poet, not all of them are of equal value and equal in
merit of the painting, but the great creative work done,
eventually resulted in a portrait that became a
milestone in the fine arts of Uzbekistan. On a
rectangular, elongated canvas, a portrait of the poet
was created, with hands folded on the staff. He is
depicted in the holiday, palace clothes. Dissonance to
the general harmonious light-color solution of the
Volume 03 Issue 03-2023
18
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
03
I
SSUE
03
Pages:
15-20
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2021:
5.
993
)
(2022:
6.
015
)
(2023:
7.
164
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
image of the poet is a tightly painted face with a harsh
expression.
As you know, the poet was a friend and adviser of the
ruler of Herat Khussein Baikara and often left the
palace to adjust conflicts and popular unrest that arose
in the country. Apparently, the subsequent verses
were written by Alisher Navoi, after his unexpected
return to the palace:
When the morning dawns the earth,
The palace of the king has a vile form:
as if the warrior host died on that field,
getting drunk bodies spread out ...
Hardly wake up, they rush again
takes the last from the poor ...
Treasury is filled and at the night
Again,
and noise and din and lavish feast…
These ruthless lines are taken from the poem "Hayrat
ul-abror" - "Confusion of the Righteous". It is the first
of the poems "Khamsa" - "Pyatiritsa", in which the
nationality and truthfulness of the exposition were the
indispensable conditions for the creation of this work.
First of all, it is this condition that makes literature and
art as a whole useful and effective. If literature and art
are deprived of the truth of life, will they be able to
enter the treasury of human culture and spirituality?
Ghazel is not appreciated, even though sonorous,
When it is meaningless.
If the word burns with the heat of Truth,
It will turn a stone into water.
These words serve as a program document and are an
obligatory rule for creative people familiar with the
poetry of Alisher Navoi and brought up by it, creating
something new and beautiful. The poet recognizes
only such a ruler who serves the people and the
Motherland, rejecting the idea that the rulers is the
Supreme Being's anointed on earth:
You is like your slaves in everything -
In appearance and in your essence.
One had to have great courage to write these lines,
being the most trusted adviser of the ruler in the 15th
century. Besides aesthetic value, the portrait of Alisher
Navoi, created by the master Abdulkhak Abdullayev, is
also valuable for revealing the spiritual world of the
great poet. Times and morals have not changed much
and the attitudes of enlightened people to these
morals do not change. The artist's views were similar
to those of his great ancestors.
In 1995, the image of Alisher Navoi was created by the
artist Aziza Mamatova. A realistic portrait, as many
people understand today, it can not be called a good
and well-written portrait. Most likely, this is a
paraphrase to the lifetime portrait of the great poet
painted from nature by miniaturist Makhmud
Muzakhhib at the end of the fifteenth century. The
same hunched shoulders, the same wise look and
pensive face expression. The clothes and the
background of the portrait are made in the same color.
From the memoirs of the artist: "In 1991, the national
poet of Uzbekistan Rauf Parfi presented me the book
of Alisher Navoi "Hamsa"- "Pyateritsa" in Russian in the
translations of L.Penkovsky, S.Lipkin and V.Derzhavin
with the words: "It's time for you to study world
literature seriously". The book was comprehensive,
eight hundred twenty pages long. When I started
Volume 03 Issue 03-2023
19
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
03
I
SSUE
03
Pages:
15-20
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2021:
5.
993
)
(2022:
6.
015
)
(2023:
7.
164
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
reading the book, I was fascinated with these beautiful
poems. "Pyateritsa" began with the poem "Hayrat ul-
abror" - "The confusion of the righteous" in an
excellent translation of V.Derzhavin. I was struck by the
truthfulness of the poet, who lived in the 15th century
and reflected the life and customs of various layers of
the society of Herat city in this poem, which was so
similar to the life of the people of our country at the
end of the twentieth century. Perhaps the strength of
great art is precisely that it is indestructible, which was
actual five centuries ago, no less relevant in our time -
the eternal struggle between light and darkness. I
wanted to create the image of a great poet who looked
so far ahead, working long and hard to ease the life of
his people".
In the painting of the image of Alisher Navoi by the
artist there is an appeal not only to the ancient Central
Asian paintings of Panjikent, Afrasiab and Varakhshy,
which was expressed in the integrity of the color spots,
but also to the Russian iconography, in particular, to
the "Trinity" - the work of the great artist Andrey
Rublev. With the original of this outstanding work, the
artist met during her university days in the Tretyakov
Gallery, in Moscow in 1968. And, of course, she studied
the miniature of Makhmud Muzakhhib - a portrait of
Alisher Navoi. This work was created five centuries ago
by him from nature. It is the only lifetime portrait of the
poet.
In the work of Aziza Mamatova, the poet is depicted
sitting in a deserted area. Next to his feet a gazelle with
pointed ears (a gazelle is a symbol of poetic inspiration
in the East) laid. It seems that it is ready to jump up and
disappear in the grove of plane trees. A young moon is
shining on a clear evening sky, purple and golden
carved leaves fly off white-trunked plane-trees dressed
in autumn dress, quietly whirling. In the picture all the
color spots are balanced, the lines are smooth and
singing, the silhouette of the poet is found. He sits in
deep thought, folding his hands on the book. Hands
are closed by the sleeves. In the East, the pulled down
sleeves meant the completion of some great work. The
poet, as though turning over the leafs of his difficult life
and sums it up. Deep silence reigns in the work, when
thoughts flow smoothly, calmly and a person prepares
to meet with eternity with the consciousness of life
well-lived.
For two and a half thousand years before Alisher Navoi,
the legendary and wise Zoroaster expressed himself in
the sacred book "Avesta": "The more I know, the
harder it becomes for me". But, in the burden of
cognizance, there are also their bright sides. They gave
outstanding personalities like Zoroaster, Abu Ali ibn
Sino, Alisher Navoi, Dante Alighieri, Wolfgang Goethe
energy to create such eternal creations as "Avesta",
"Canons of Medicine", "Mystical Treatises", "Khamsa"
- "Pyateritsa", "Divine Comedy", "Faust" and many
other great works. These works help to survive to
mankind.
Oh, why am I not a friend with you, wine?
Caring and trouble are oppressing me for a long time ...
The more I look on this mortal world,
The more my mind is dark!
I wanted to know the nature of celestial bodies -
Not one are the secret for me now.
My coming to the mortal world, my departure to
another world -
This is not fated to understand, alas.
"But Alisher Navoi did not give up ... his spiritual drama,
however much it was strong and painful could not
Volume 03 Issue 03-2023
20
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
03
I
SSUE
03
Pages:
15-20
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2021:
5.
993
)
(2022:
6.
015
)
(2023:
7.
164
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
prevent him constantly to seek, find, doubt, create and
fight for high ideals" - wrote academician Vakhid
Zakhidov . The great Latin American poet of the mid-
twentieth century, José Martin wrote: "El Pueblo, qual
pierde su lengua, pierde i su independensia" - "The
people who lose their language lose their freedom." In
this respect, the great merit of the poet Alisher Navoi,
who wrote his "Hamsa" - "Pyateritsa" in the Turkic
language.
Soviet scientists, introducing Uzbek terminology into
the everyday life of science, suggested the language on
which the "Hamsa" is written, to be called the Central
Asian, Turkish, Muslim language. The scientist
E.E.Bertels insisted that this language should be called
Turkic or Old Uzbek, since after the death of the poet
Alisher Navoi, the territory of Maveronnahr was
conquered by the Uzbek khan Shaybani. In general, the
primordial, indigenous population of this territory
spoke the Turkic language. The conclusion of
E.E.Bertels that the language of Alisher Navoi's poetry
is preserved in Uzbek and Uighur language is
interesting.
"Poets who wrote in their native, Old Uzbek language
not only could speak Farsi, but often brilliantly wrote in
this language" . "Therefore, the merit of Alisher Navoi
in the development of the Uzbek language is so great.
He established the Turkic language in writing in his
work, as the official language of the Uzbek state.
CONCLUSION
All three portraits were painted in different decades of
the twentieth century by painters who were familiar
with the work of the great Alisher Navoi. These
portraits reflect the different facets of the poet's
character and are very unlike each other in the style of
the image, but a deep love for the poet's personality
who left a huge literary heritage which is the spiritual
wealth of all mankind unites its authors, because the
heritage of the great poet Alisher Navoi belongs to all
who understand, loves and honors him!
REFERENCES
1.
Sulaimonov M. Оразин ёп
қ
ач
. [Electronic
resource]. Access mode:
2.
http://e-adabiyot.uz/uzbek/mumoz/navoiy/973-
maqola. html
3.
Dictionary of pithy saying and еxpressions.
[Electronic
resource].
Access
mode:
http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/dic_wingwords/2610
/Old man
4.
Alisher Navoi - Poems. / Library of World Literature.
First series. t.26. - M: "Fiction", 1972. p. 5.
5.
Gudarzi-Nadzhafov A. A gift for the fortieth
anniversary. [Electronic resource]. Access mode:
https://www.proza.ru/2011/08/06/395
