The village where the house is located was previously called Orlovka. The building is situated on Omorbekov Street and includes four rooms. The area of the land plot is 22 hundredths of a hectare. The artist personally oversaw the construction of his house. Nearby is another building that was constructed by his father, Theodor Gerhardovich. This house has also been preserved and remains in good condition to this day. Later, the Herzen family moved to Germany, selling the house to local residents.
Batina's family purchased the house from one of the locals and discovered many items that once belonged to Herzen and his relatives. Particularly valuable is his painting "Horseman by the Waterfall." In 2012, as Makishova recounts, they were contacted from Bishkek with a request to provide the painting for an exhibition, promising to return it. "I was so happy to give the painting, but unfortunately, I was deceived, and it disappeared. That same year, my husband passed away, and we forgot about the painting. Now I ask my daughters to look for it in museums, but so far without success. I am proud to live in the house of such an outstanding figure in art. In the Herzen family, everyone was an artist, and his sister-in-law also painted well. I always dream that my children will reach similar heights in art," she shares.
The house was purchased in the early years of Kyrgyzstan's independence, when the national currency, the som, had just been introduced. According to Makishova, its cost at that time was about 100,000 soms, which in today’s terms equates to the price of a good horse.
Theodor Herzen, born on March 15, 1935, in the village of Orlovka, was the son of parents who moved to Kyrgyzstan in the late 1920s. His father, Theodor Gerhardovich, was a well-known educator and had a significant influence on his son's development.
Herzen received his education at the Frunze Art School, specializing in painting, but his true calling was found in book graphics, where he became a renowned illustrator. His training was under the guidance of masters such as A.I. Ignatiev and F.M. Stukoshin, and he later continued his studies at the Moscow Higher Artistic and Industrial School, specializing in monumental art.
Herzen gained the most fame for his illustrations of the Kyrgyz epic "Manas," where he created a series of linocuts based on years of studying the history and culture of the Kyrgyz people. This project became a unique example of the synthesis of image and word, within which the artist produced 200 engravings—a precedent-setting work.
Equally significant was his work on engravings for the German epic "The Song of the Nibelungs." As an ethnic German, Herzen could not remain indifferent to his national heritage, and this work became a way for him to connect with the historical roots of his people and immerse himself in European medieval culture.
In addition, he illustrated works by Kyrgyz authors, such as "Kobzar" by T. Shevchenko, "Jamilya" by Ch. Aitmatov, and "Resurrection" by L. Tolstoy.
