Georgi Popov, Known As John (1906–1960), Bulgarian, “allegorical Landscape,” Oil On Panel, Signed And Dated 31

Georgi Popov is one of those Bulgarian artists whose creative development is linked to European artistic trends. He lived and worked during the first half of the 20th century. Unfortunately, his name is not among the most well-known in Bulgarian art, and his varied body of work has yet to be sufficiently popularized or studied in depth.

He is an interesting figure, one of Bulgaria’s famous bohemians, a man with a wide range of creative interests. He worked on portraits, landscapes, nudes, still lifes, and figurative compositions. He has also made his mark in the fields of monumental decoration, graphic design, and set design. He is also a brilliant writer—he has authored a series of articles devoted to various cultural events and issues in the visual arts.

Throughout his creative career, John Popov went through various phases. His time in Paris from 1930 to 1935 and from 1937 to 1939 proved particularly fruitful. During this time, he became an integral part of the French art scene. He familiarized himself with French art, including the Surrealists, Futurists, and Cubists, as well as the distinctive style of the École de Paris. Despite these influences, John Popov retained his distinctive artistic style.

From 1947 to 1948, the artist lived and worked in Sweden, where he created illustrations. From that time on, his watercolors were also characterized by their exceptional color.

From the late 1940s through 1960, John Popov worked exclusively with pastels. He developed the “Peaches” theme in a series of preparatory drawings and paintings, drawn to the still-life genre.

An exhibition at the Sofia City Art Gallery in the spring of 2006 featured approximately 75 paintings and drawings and six illustrated books. The works on display are owned by various public galleries, the Svetlin Rusev Studio, and other private collectors.

John Popov is one of the great masters of Bulgarian fine arts, a status he has earned over the past few decades. His mastery is also evident in some of his portraits, such as “Woman with a Peacock,” “Portrait of Vaska Emanouilova,” “Portrait of Dimo” (the artist’s son, who committed suicide at a young age), “Portrait of Philip Chipev,” and “Portrait of Asen Peikov,” which possess great depth and even a sense of drama.(City Gallery)