Yanko Marinov

Yanko Marinov is a Bulgarian artist, born in 1907 in the village of Kilifarevo. Having lost his father early, he began painting at a young age and worked as a blacksmith and laborer. At the age of 17, he left for Sofia on his own, and was later arrested for his communist views and activities, after which he emigrated to the USSR. In Odessa, he studied at the Art School and the Leningrad Academy, and participated in the defense of the city during World War II. After 1944, he returned to Bulgaria, becoming a founder of the Varna artists' community and the City Art Gallery in Varna. He worked primarily in the landscape genre and held over 30 solo exhibitions, including in Italy. Before his death, he donated paintings to his native village, where they are displayed in the local gallery. He passed away in 2001 at the age of 94 in Varna.