Born in Baku on November 29, 1928 in the family of a party worker who fell victim to Stalinist repressions in the 1930s. He graduated from the A. Azimzade Art School in Baku (1950) and the Moscow V.I.Surikov Art Institute (1957). He lived in Baku, then moved to Moscow, but constantly came to his homeland. He was influenced by A. A. Deineka, as well as “heroic portraits” of P. D. Korin.
He gained fame with paintings about oil workers (Repairmen, 1961, R. Mustafayev Museum of Art, Baku) and portraits of the artistic intelligentsia (Composer Kara Karaev, 1960; D. D. Shostakovich, 1976; both portraits - in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), rigid in color and compositional rhythm, graphically clear in form, full of energetic-volitional creative self-affirmation; these works have become classic examples of the so-called severe style, opposing, despite its official exhibition status, the established standards of socialist realism. The effects of the "thaw" - which persisted during the period of "stagnation" - clearly made themselves felt in the administrative activities of the master. As the first secretary of the Union of Artists of the USSR (1973–1992), he stubbornly adhered to the principles of diplomatic, but deeply principled liberalism, which allowed artists, especially in the 1980s, to consistently expand the territory of creative freedom. Since 1979 - Academic Secretary of the Russian Academy of Arts for the Department of Painting (since 1996 - Vice President of the Academy).
Many of Salakhov’s significant works are related to impressions of foreign trips to Spain, the USA, Mexico and other countries (Mexican Bullfight, 1969, ibid .; triptych Meeting with R. Rauschenberg, 1990, the property of the artist). He also worked fruitfully as a stage designer (designing a number of performances of the M. Azizbekov Academic Drama Theater in Baku - U. Shakespeare Anthony and Cleopatra, 1964, and Hamlet, 1970; U. Hajibeyov Ker-oglu, 1975, and others) and teacher ( taught at the Baku school named after M. Aliyev, 1963–1974, and the Moscow Art Institute named after V. I. Surikov, since 1975). Laureate of the USSR State Prize (1968). Hero of Socialist Labor (1989).
Hero of Socialist Labor, People's Artist of the USSR, Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation, laureate of the State Prize of the USSR and State Prizes of the Azerbaijan SSR / 2 prizes /, professor, corresponding member of the Academy of Fine Arts of France, academician-correspondent of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando (Spain) , full member of the Academy of Arts of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Academy of Fine Arts of Azerbaijan.
Born November 29, 1928 in Baku.
Lives and works in Moscow.
Painter. He studied at the Azerbaijan Art College. A. Azimzade (1945-1950). In 1957 he graduated from Moscow State Art Institute. V.I. Surikov in the workshop of P.D. Pokarzhevsky.
USSR State Prize of 1968 for "Portrait of the Composer Kara Karaev" (1960), paintings "Repairmen" (1960), "At the Caspian Sea" (1967).
Republican Prize of the Azerbaijan SSR named after Mirza Fatali Akhundov in 1965 for the sets and costumes for the play "Anthony and Cleopatra" by W. Shakespeare (1964) at the Azerbaijan State Drama Theater named after M. Azizbekova.
The State Prize of the Azerbaijan SSR 1970 for the painting "The New Sea" (1970).
In 1959 he was awarded the Komsomol Prize and a diploma of the VII World Festival of Youth and Students in Vienna for the landscape painting "Morning Train" (1959).
Silver medal of the USSR Academy of Arts in 1962 for "Portrait of the composer Kara Karaev" (1960).
Gold medal to them. M. B. Grekova 1977 for the creation of works on a heroic-patriotic theme.
PAX Gold Medal (1998) for works of recent years.
Among the author’s most famous works are portraits: composer Fikret Amirov (1967), D. D. Shostakovich (1974-1976), Rasul Rza (1971), Rasul Gamzatov (1978), mother (1984), Vari (1985), I. Miroshnichenko (1981); Mexican Bullfight (1969); graphic and pictorial cycles: "Across Czechoslovakia" (1961-1965), "Across Italy" (1964-1972), "Across America" (1965-1970), "India" (1968-1970), "Across Norway" (1968 -1978); theatrical scenery and costume designs for the performances "Ker-ogly" by U. Hajibeyov (1975), "Aydin D. Dzhabarly" (1972).
Full member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR (1975). People's Artist of the USSR (1973). People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR (1963). People's Artist of the Russian Federation (1996). Professor since 1973. In 1973-1992. - First Secretary of the Union of Artists of the USSR. In the years 1972-1974. - Chairman of the Board of the Union of Artists of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1975 he was elected an honorary member of the Union of Artists of the German Democratic Republic, in 1983 - an honorary member of the Society of Fine Art Workers of Austria. Honorary Member of the Federation of Culture and Education of the State of Montana (USA) (1985).
In 1987 he was elected a member of the French Academy of Arts. Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid, Spain (1998). Hero of Socialist Labor (1989). Since 1979 - Member of the Presidium of the Academy of Arts of the USSR (since 1992 - PAX), academician-secretary of the Painting Department. Vice President of PAX, Academic Secretary of the Painting Department since 1997. Honorary President of the International Association of Plastic Arts at UNESCO (1982). Full member of the Academy of Fine Arts of Azerbaijan (1993). Full member of the Academy of Arts of the Kyrgyz Republic (1998). Vice-President of the International Federation of Artists of Russia (1997). Deputy Chairman of the Chamber for Science, Education and Culture, Chairman of the Commission on Relations with Creative Unions in the Political Advisory Council under the President of the Russian Federation (1996).