konstantin georgiev shtarkelov was a bulgarian painter born in sofia in 1889 and died in sofia in 1961. he was a master of aquarelle and revealed the poetics of bulgarian mountains such as mt rila, mt vitosha, and the rhodope mountains. he is represented in the collection by a landscape entitled 'birch'. konstantin shtarkelov was one of the first women to become a professional artist in bulgaria and is credited with being the first bulgarian woman to paint a nude figure at the state school of painting and the first woman to host a solo exhibition in bulgaria. she studied abroad and became a noted art critic, publishing articles focused on bulgarian culture and women's participation in the arts.
