It is Easter again. By an old tradition, we have decorated eggs, made the Easter cake, and cleansed by the long Lent fast, have gone to church for the Easter liturgy. What else is there? The answer comes, surprisingly, in a bouquet of Easter impressions in an exhibition called Easter at the Impressions art gallery in Sofia. They are woven into the colours of the works by the late Atanas Sharenkov (1943-1992) and his wife Venera Konstantinova, and show a close bond with Orthodoxy and the Christian spirit. Three of the landscapes have been inspired by this Christian holiday and feature Easter eggs, says Venera for Radio Bulgaria. In her words, this original idea belongs to Atanas and gave the symbolic exhibition its title.

“This is evidenced by the dates of the works. The three Easter paintings are from May 1989 and were inspired by Easter, by the colourful decorated eggs. This idea is so original – I have never seen any other artist paint landscapes or other pictures with so many painted eggs.”

The exposition is dedicated to Atanas’ birth anniversary. But every time you display works by someone who left us 22 years ago, this is a resurrection of sorts, Venera adds:

“He had a very powerful bond with the Bulgarian landscape, with Bulgaria.  Although he has traveled to many countries around the world he has told me that he can never get his inspiration from foreign landscapes. Once, he went to Germany for a seminar, but his German landscapes turned out so cold, so aloof. That was not Atanas Sharenkov as we know him. It was then I realized how close his bond with this country, with the church really was. And his interest in Bulgarian nature, in the church, in painting small chapels was gradually passed onto me – these are spiritual pathways that form part of our identity. Sharenkov’s style is unique. Though he graduated painting in St. Petersburg, Russia, he has many frescoes. As most artists do, he went through many different phases. He is very expressive and his paintings are thin-layered. “My paintings will not need restoration, he would say to me. Because paintings with thicker layers of paint tend to crack. Whereas I can guarantee that my pictures, if stored properly, will live for ever.” In the last years of his life, Atanas developed a strong interest in the works by German artist Paul Klee. Hence his artistic outburst during his structural pictures period. Into these structures he wove figures, suns, moons, holidays, churches, houses, an entire universe. A kaleidoscope of life in Bulgaria, of everything, we Bulgarians represent.”

Venera Konstantinova herself lends a special flavour to Sharenkov’s impressions with her spring landscapes from the revival-time towns Koprivshtitsa, Shiroka Luka, Kovachevitsa. Venera adores their beauty, because they have preserved their pristine nature, but also the authentic Bulgarian rituals and traditions.

As to Easter and Christmas, Venera says: “We, Bulgarians revere Easter and Christmas because they are part of our tradition. Herein lies our salvation, our survival. Showing young people our traditions and our culture is very important. Because that is our way of surviving, especially in this global age, when so many different things, rituals, systems of values are all churned together. It is the only way the nation can be saved. And the role paintings play in this is crucial because they are a product of the spirit. When you put a painting in your home it immediately lends it a spirit of its own. And creates an Easter spirit that never ends.”

English version: Milena Daynova