Anton Stefanov Mitov (Bulgarian: Антон Стефанов Митов; 1 April 1862, in

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora ( bg, Стара Загора, ) is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province. Name The name comes from the Slavic root ''star'' ("old") and the name of the medieva ...

– 20 August 1930, in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

) was a Bulgarian painter, art critic, art historian, social activist and corresponding member of the

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; bg, Българска академия на науките, ''Balgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated ''БАН'') is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy ...

Biography

When he was fifteen,

Ottoman Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

troops burned his hometown and massacred over 14,000 people. His family fled to

Svishtov Svishtov ( bg, Свищов ) is a town in northern Bulgaria, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province on the right bank of the Danube river opposite the Romanian town of Zimnicea. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svishtov Municipali ...

, where they lived in poverty. He took a job as a clerk in Romania and remained there until Bulgaria was

liberated Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

in 1878, returning home determined to be an artist. In 1881, after working as a telegraph operator for two years, he saved enough money to enroll at the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze ("academy of fine arts of Florence") is an instructional art academy in Florence, in Tuscany, in central Italy. It was founded by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1563, under the influence of Giorgio Vasar ...

where he studied under the direction of

Giuseppe Ciaranfi Giuseppe Ciaranfi (1838, Pistoia - 18 January 1902, Florence) was an Italian history and genre painter. Biography He initially studied with Enrico Pollastrini in Florence. In 1859, he was admitted to the nude figure lessons at the Accademia di ...

. Upon his return home, he worked as a journalist and a teacher in Stara Zagora,

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

, Varna and Sofia. In 1896, he was one of the co-founders of the

National Academy of Arts The National Academy of Arts ( bg, Национална художествена академия) is an institution of higher education in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest and most renowned school of arts in the country. History The Natio ...

in Sofia, where he taught art history, drawing and perspective. He served two terms as its Director, from 1912 to 1918, and from 1924 to 1927. In 1898, he was part of a team of artists that decorated the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. One of the first Bulgarian painters to exhibit internationally, he played a decisive role in dispelling the image of his country as a cultural backwater. He was also active in the nation's political and cultural life, making contributions to many newspapers such as ''Balkan Dawn'', ''Evening Post'' and ''World'' as well as the magazine ''Art'' (usually under pseudonyms, such as "Tonino" and "Arnold"). He also lectured extensively and did book illustrations (those for ''

Under the Yoke ''Under the Yoke'' ( bg, Под игото - ''Pod Igoto''), with subtitle ''A Romance of Bulgarian Liberty'' is a historical novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a bo ...

'' by

Ivan Vazov Ivan Minchov Vazov ( bg, Иван Минчов Вазов; – 22 September 1921) was a Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley ...

are, perhaps, best known). Among his works are the first

seascape A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation from landscape, which was first used of images of land in art. By a similar deve ...

s painted in Bulgaria, although he specialized in

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other ...

art and portraits. A street in Plovdiv is named after him. His brother

Georgi Georgi may refer to: * Georgi (given name) * Georgi (surname) See also *Georgy (disambiguation) Georgy may refer to: * Georgy (given name) *Diminituve for Georgina *Georgy, the protagonist in '' Georgy Girl'' novel, film, and song * ''Georgy'' (mu ...

was also a well-known painter.

Sources

BgArt: Brief biography

Антон Митов
@ Facebook: Biography and paintings

Biography and paintings

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitov, Anton 1862 births 1930 deaths Genre painters People from Stara Zagora Bulgarian art critics Bulgarian art historians Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 19th-century Bulgarian painters 19th-century male artists 20th-century Bulgarian painters 20th-century male artists Male painters