Before the revolution, the Kyrgyz people knew visual arts only in its folk, applied form. The art of ornamentation was developed: it adorned felt and pile carpets, wooden, leather, and metal objects. The "ram's curl"—a stylized depiction of a ram's horn in various variations—was particularly widespread.
The Museum of Visual Arts of Kyrgyzstan (from 1935 to 1946 a picture gallery) is a repository of invaluable treasures. It was organized at the initiative and under the guidance of artists S. Chuykov and V. Obraztsov. The museum has a large collection of classical works. It features works by V. Surikov, I. Repin, V. Vereshchagin, I. Levitan, V. Polenov, I. Aivazovsky, V. Makovsky, K. Korovin, V. Vasnetsov, V. Tropinin, and other remarkable artists.
The museum also houses works by Kyrgyz artists: S. Chuykov, V. Obraztsov, A. Ignatiev, G. Aitieva, S. Akylbekov, O. Manuilova, L. Deimant, and many others.
Semyon Afanasevich Chuykov, People's Artist of the USSR, full member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR, laureate of the State Prizes of the USSR, laureate of the State Prize of the Kyrgyz SSR named after Toktogul, laureate of the Indian Jawaharlal Nehru Prize.
His name is associated with the birth, development, and highest achievements of visual arts in Soviet Kyrgyzstan.
A native of Kyrgyzstan, he had a deep understanding of the life of the Kyrgyz people and celebrated it for over 60 years. He was the chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Union of Soviet Artists of Kyrgyzstan, established in 1933, the organizer of the first republican art exhibition in 1934, and the first chairman of the Union of Artists of Kyrgyzstan.
At the initiative and with the active participation of Semyon Afanasevich Chuykov, an art gallery was opened in the capital of the republic in 1935 — now the Kyrgyz State Museum of Visual Arts.
In historical and genre compositions, portraits, landscapes, and cycles, S. Chuykov created a generalized image of the Kyrgyz land and people. The artist's works are held in major museums of the USSR, the Dresden Gallery, national art museums in Sofia, Budapest, and many foreign private collections. He was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner of Labour (twice), the Bulgarian Order "Cyril and Methodius," and medals.
Gapar Aitiev — one of the first professional artists of the Kyrgyz people. He entered the history of Kyrgyz visual arts as a master of landscape, author of thematic paintings and portraits, and a number of monumental and easel sculptures. His works such as "Volunteers," "Letter from the Front," "Noon," "Portrait of the Artist S. Akylbekov," "Portrait of the Ballerina R. Chokoeva," "Monument-Bust to Zhukeev-Pudovkin," "Monument to Toktogul Satylganov," and others are widely known.
He is a corresponding member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR, laureate of the State Prize of the Kyrgyz SSR named after Toktogul, awarded the Order of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour, the Order of the "Badge of Honour," and many medals.
One of the bright representatives of the first generation of artists in Kyrgyzstan is Sabyrbek Akylbekov. The artist participated in the first republican exhibition in 1934. He entered the history of Kyrgyz visual arts as a master of lyrical landscape, possessing a subtle sense of nature and perfect skill in conveying its states.
In his canvases "In the Fields of Kyrgyzstan," "Through the Chui Valley," "Autumn in Southern Kyrgyzstan," and others, he created a poetic image of the republic with its chains of blue mountains, steppe expanses, and the depth of the skies.
A talented graphic artist with an original creative style and a capable painter, laureate of the Lenin Komsomol Prize of Kyrgyzstan Belek Jumabaev (1939—1977) belongs to a group of Kyrgyz artists who, having absorbed the achievements of their predecessors, boldly seek independent paths in art. The world of his works is diverse and complex. In his canvases "Before Dawn," "The Hunter's Tale," he strives for a truthful depiction of life and its artistic interpretation through the color state of nature.
One of Belek Jumabaev's best achievements as a book graphic artist is the design of the book "Winged Horses" by the storyteller S. Karalaev, for which he was awarded a II degree diploma at the All-Union competition for the best book of 1965.
People's Artist of the Kyrgyz SSR, laureate of the State Prize of the USSR, graphic artist Lydia Alexandrovna Ilyina forever linked her creative fate with Kyrgyzstan and created a deep generalized image of the Kyrgyz people in her graphics. Her works were exhibited at international and foreign exhibitions of Soviet art in the USA, England, Italy, Japan, and more than 20 countries worldwide.
For a series of color linocuts "A Word about the Kyrgyz Woman," L. A. Ilyina was awarded the Gold Medal of the Academy of Arts of the USSR, and her engraving "New Product" received an international award at the Biennale in Ljubljana.
Many works by L. A. Ilyina are held in the State Tretyakov Gallery, museums in Moscow, Leningrad, and other cities.
The name of Alexei Illarionovich Ignatiev, People's Artist of the Kyrgyz SSR, laureate of the State Prize of the Kyrgyz SSR named after Toktogul, is widely known in the republic. A master of lyrical and industrial landscapes, he created works dedicated to the mountainous nature, the life of highland herders, and the construction of socialist Kyrgyzstan ("Spring in the Tian Shan Mountains," "Horsemen," etc.).
The canvases "Naryn Blocked," "In the Dam Pit," "At the Pass," "Conquered Mountains" became a kind of artistic chronicle of the Toktogul Hydroelectric Power Station and earned the artist the fame of a bard of construction. The artist was awarded the Order of the "Badge of Honour," and medals.
The applied art of the Kyrgyz people is original, talented, and remarkably diverse. A significant place in the creativity of the Kyrgyz has long been occupied by artistic products made of wool, felt, fabric, and reeds (ala-kiyiz, shirdak, tush-kiyiz, etc.).
In the genre of applied art worked the People's Artist of the Kyrgyz SSR, laureate of the State Prize of the Kyrgyz SSR named after Toktogul Jumabai Umetov. An artist of bright original talent and great culture, he found ways to incorporate the ancient artistic traditions of the people into modern professional applied art.
Ala-kiyiz (felt carpets) by J. Umetov were awarded the first prize at the Exhibition of Applied Arts of Socialist Countries in Erfurt (1974), the Gold Medal of the Academy of Arts of the USSR, and the Gold Medal of VDNH USSR.
The artist's personal exhibitions have been successfully displayed in Moscow, Erfurt, Prague, Ulaanbaatar, and other cities and countries.
In traditional forms and techniques of folk applied art worked the applied artist, honored worker of culture of the Kyrgyz SSR Shaken Mambetaipova. Her works — wool and chiy panels, felt carpets, embroideries have repeatedly been awarded diplomas and prizes at all-Union exhibitions of folk art.
In the chiy technique, decorated with wool, the artist created portraits of V. I. Lenin and Ch. Aitmatov. The chiy panel "Girl with a Camel" was exhibited in the Kyrgyz section of the USSR pavilion at the World Exhibition in Canada. The publishing house "Kyrgyzstan" released a book by Sh. Mambetaipova titled "Kyrgyz Ornament," which features her original compositions on the themes of folk patterns.