Boris Denev

Born in Veliko Tarnovo in 1883, Boris Denev first exhibited his works in 1908 and organized 25 solo exhibitions during his lifetime.

From 1909 to 1914 he studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, under Professors Leo von Löftz, Karl von Maar and Angelo Jank. From 1914 to 1935 he was a war artist in Sofia. In the 1920s he worked for a while in Italy.
Denev works primarily in the field of landscape. Many of his paintings reveal the artist's love for his hometown of Tarnovo, while others recreate the beauty of nature from other picturesque corners, such as Melnik, Plovdiv, Samokov, and the Sofia region.

After the September 9th Coup on November 1, Boris Denev was arrested by the new authorities. After five months in Sofia prison and five months in the Dupnitsa camp, he was released without being tried. He was expelled from the Union of Bulgarian Artists. In 1956, Boris Denev was reinstated in the Union of Bulgarian Artists, in 1967 he was fully rehabilitated and awarded the title of "Honored Artist", but it was not until the 1980s that the Union of Bulgarian Artists organized an exhibition of his work.[2]

His daughter, Slavka Deneva, is also a famous artist. The two do not fit into the canon of socialist realism. In 1993, the “Support of Art in Bulgaria” fund was created, which restored over 300 works and displays a permanent exhibition of Slavka and Boris Deneva at 18 Shipka Street. In 1999, the “Boris Denev” and “Slavka Deneva” awards were established, which are awarded every two years.

He died on December 31, 1969 in Sofia.