Снегът отдавна се стопи, а човекът, за когото искам да ви разкажа, е свързан тъкмо с него. Денчо Ножаров - известният русенски сладкар и снежен скулптор, живял в първата половина на 20-ти век.
At the very end of winter I'm writing a post about snow...:) I would like to introduce to you the talented Bulgarian Dencho Nozharov, who lived in the first half of the 20th century and was famous for his snowy sculptures.
Преди две-три години се появиха непознати за широката общественост снимки, от които дъхът ти спира. Оживяха спомени на негови наследници и хора, които са слушали разказите на свои близки за самобитния му талант да извайва внушителни снежни фигури. Няколко десетилетия те са радвали русенци и гостите на града, а днес будят и нашето възхищение.
A brief information about him appeared just a couple of years ago! Everyone was enchanted by his works - you can see a whole series here.
Денчо Ножаров (роден през 1883 г.) бил собственик на известната сладкарница "Швейцария", намираща се в центъра на Русе. Докато работел, той забелязал, че му доставя удоволствие да прави малки скулптури от т.нар.от русенци "бутер" (краве масло). Така започнало всичко... Ето какво четем в архивите на Регионална Библиотека "Любен Каравелов"-Русе.
Dencho Nozharov (born in 1883) owned a pastry shop in the centre of my hometown - Rousse. While preparing the delicious desserts he discovered his passion for sculpting small butter figures. His natural talent found a way to flourish - the winters used to be very long and with plenty of snow, so it turned to be his basic art material. And that's how it all began.
Зимите в крайдунавския град били продължителни и снежни (също като в моето детство!) и той е имал предостатъчно материал за своите снежно-ледени скулптури. Всяка зима пред сладкарницата му се появявала изложба на известни личности - писатели, поети, политици, композитори...
Nozharov didn't have an education in art. He was a self-taught sculptor of high rank. Although he hadn't finished school, his natural curiosity kept his mind always busy to read and learn more and more about nature, history, literature, philosophy... And with the help of a small metal spatula and a pastry knife he recreated from snow and ice some of the most famous world personalities, such as Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Pushkin, Shakespeare,Goethe, Wagner, Beethoven, Galileo Galilei, as well as many Bulgarian writers and revolutionaries.
Рихард Вагнер
Richard Wagner
Ботев
Hristo Botev - a famous Bulgarian poet and revolutionary
Hristo Botev - a famous Bulgarian poet and revolutionary
А африканските животни в естествен размер приканвали деца и възрастни да се снимат за спомен...:)
Children and adults loved to take a photo with the African animals 'walking" on the street...:)
Children and adults loved to take a photo with the African animals 'walking" on the street...:)
Синът и дъщерята на Денчо Ножаров
Dencho Nozharov's children
Автопортрет
A self-portrait
Гледам старите черно-бели снимки и си мисля, че за истинския талант наистина няма пречки! И че той е още по-ценен, когато не подражава, а проправя собствен път, разкривайки собствен, неповторим стил...
Looking at these black and white old photos, I feel excited and inspired, and proud... There're no boundaries for the real talent, it's true! To create, without imitating, just following your heart... How beautiful it is!!
I like black and white pictures for their nostalgia and snow gives also a nostalgic feeling because it makes me think of childhood. I agree with you that creativity always finds a way to manifest itself! The fourth picture could be a portrait of my magician!
ОтговорИзтриванеLove, Hedwig
I think these pics give just an idea of what those snowy sculptures looked like... I'm sure they were much more beautiful and impressive.:)
ИзтриванеOh, I love the fact that he used snow as his material. It reminds me of artists in China who use water and huge brushes to write amazing calligraphy on pavements, work that evaporates within minutes. There is something very contemporary about the impermanence of the material. (And it is refreshingly egoless too.)
ОтговорИзтриванеYes, he used nothing but snow for two - three decades! Just imagine the winters then - long, cold and snowy! As far as I know, Nozharov invented his own method for keeping the sculptures whole as long as possible: he made snowy cubes by night, watered them to freeze and in the morning began sculpting... It must have been very sad to see his work melting under the sun...
ИзтриванеI haven't heard of this calligraphy - it sounds astonishing, thanks for sharing, Sasa!:)
Oh!! WOW Amazing he was a precursor!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ОтговорИзтриванеand we must think that at that times he had no tools like today!!!!
I have a question for you....when you were living in that city, it was still the pastry shop? and you tryed his desserts? Have a nice week dear friend!!!!!!!!!
Yes, exactly - he was! No Internet - no influences; just you and your talent...
ИзтриванеI LIVE in this city,Roberto, I was born here, but this man began to expose his sculptures about 100 years ago!! I know his pastry shop offered lots of delicious sweets. It's sad, but my dear parents are not alive to share their memories with me...:( But there's and old lady whom I'll ask to tell me what she remembers!
Today, there's a cafe at that same place...:D
Merci Rossichka de nous avoir présenté toutes ces réalisations artistiques, ces vrais chef-d’œuvre de l'éphémère que leurs auteurs n'ont pas eu peur de perdre, ni de les voir fondre comme neige au soleil. Je te souhaite un très beau week-end.Amitiés.
ОтговорИзтриванеRoger
Bonsoir! Ce sont des sculptures d'un auteur - Dencho Nozharov, qui a vecu pendant le premiere partie du 20-eme siecle. He made his sculptures from snow and ice with the tools de la patisserie he owned. But, yes, it must have been very sad to see how his sculptures melt under the sun. The excitement while creating them and the joy they brought to people were much more important!
ИзтриванеThank you for stopping by! Have a lovely March! Excuse-me, but I don't have the French alphabet on my keyboard...:(
C'est bien d'avoir mis à l'honneur cet artiste tellement doué. Je ne crois pas qu'il aies regretté de voir se sculptures fondre au soleil. Tout artiste pratiquant un art éphémère accepte cette loi de la disparition rapide. Cela fait partie du jeu, comme en land art. Nul doute qu'il ait donné du bonheur à beaucoup de joie aux gens qui voyaient ces sculptures, et à moi, longtemps après, qui ait pu les admirer grâce à toi. Ne t'en fais pas pour ton clavier incomplète, je reçois et comprends très bien tes messages, avec joie à chaque fois.
ОтговорИзтриванеAmitiés.
Roger
Salut, Roger! Maybe you are the person who understands most deeply the relationship between this man and his art and the real nature of creating something ephemeral!
ИзтриванеAlthough an ordinary person, he was a true artist and that is why I get excited every time I look at those old photos - the only testimony for his talent...
Best wishes for a marvellous new week!:)))
Amazing work! It must have been very cold making them though don't you think? We haven't had any snow or even much frost again this year but there's still time! xx
ОтговорИзтриванеIn my childhood the winters were long and cold. In my father's childhood (in the same city) they were much colder and with lots of snow (that's the years D.Nozharov created his sculptures). I remember my Dad told he had skated on the frozen river Danube!!
ИзтриванеI had never heard of him or seen photos of his sculpture. Such a joy to see. Thank you for sharing this with us! Yes, the end of winter here too. I have noticed my bulbs are starting to push through the earth, so exciting to see. Sweet week to you.
ОтговорИзтриванеHe was "forgotten", so to say... We, the younger generations of fellow citizens, hadn't heard of him. But I've read that he was known in Europe by that time - there was an article about him in the Italian press, for instance.
ИзтриванеSpring came here very early. You know about the Bulgarian tradition Baba Marta, don't you? Well, this year it happened for the first time to put the "martenitsas" AFTER some fruit trees were in blossom. I have even seen a stork! But people continue to wear their martenitsas - I'm curious to see till when in these rather unusual circumstances.:)
A lovely week to you, too, Tammie! Thank you for all your sweet comments!!