The painting “Portrait of Maria Stoilova” by Ivan Boyadzhiev is the highlight of the month of May in Djurkovi Gallery.
The surviving portraits by Ivan Boyadzhiev are sharp in their psychological characterization and reflect the modern era—resolved asymmetrically, with typical cropping, emphasized linearity, and bold color.
The image of a young intellectual woman, in step with European fashion, radiating culture and a rich spiritual life, treated in a way ahead of its time in Bulgaria, is a remarkable phenomenon in Bulgarian portraiture. Painted in 1920, the portrait of Maria Stoilova is undoubtedly a significant event. Later, as the wife of the prominent Bulgarian director and theatrical figure Stoil Stoilov (1893–1944), Maria Stoilova would also be portrayed by Dechko Uzunov, Sultana Suruzhon, and Andrey Nikolov.
Ruzha Marinska