Prominent Albanian painter Sali Shijaku passed away this Saturday, at the age of 89. 

This news was announced by the artist's son, Orges Shijaku, through a post on social networks. 

"It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the loss of our father, the painter of the People, the Honor of the Albanian Nation, Sali Shijaku", wrote the artist's son. 

However, Sali Shijaku was born in Tirana, on March 12, 1933 in a small merchant family. After completing the Artistic Lyceum "Jordan Misja", which he graduated in 1952, with the teachers Abdurrahim Buza and Nexhmedin Zajmi, he continued his higher studies at the Higher Institute of Arts "I.E.Rjepin" in Leningrad (today Saint Petersburg during the years 1956- '61) near the studio of prof. Boris Vladimirovich Johanson, a well-known painter, president of the Academy of Soviet Arts and Director of the "Tretyakov" Gallery in Moscow. 

The painting entitled "Heroes of Vigu" was the diploma thesis of Shijaku as a student, which he presented in 1962 in Albania, at the High Institute of Arts, Tirana. 

He started his artistic creation in the beginning of the 60s. He was part of the group of Albanian artists, who treated the compositional picture, mainly with themes from the war, from history, from legends, but also from the actuality of the time. 

He entered the path of figurative art with his first portraits, such as: "Portret vajze" (1953, GKA), "Costum tyranseje" (1952, GKA), gradually moving from painting to painting towards the search for beauty portraits , psychological deepening and decorative stains, etc. 

Work of the "People's Painter", Sali Shijaku, is characterized by a wide range of themes, which find solutions in different, often unexpected forms. 

Thus, the picture "Partisans of the battalion - Revenge" (1966), had a strong tendency for the psychological deepening of the characters, which, although with a static attitude, evidenced the spiritual strength and heroism of the time. 

What was special about this painting was the incomplete presentation of its characters, a rather bold step for the time when the work was created. 

Until the beginning of the 70s, the painter Sali Shijaku had not yet detached himself from the real image, painting with light shadows and nuances. The painting "Mic Sokoli" 1969, finally "detached" the artist from this way of painting and created new visions, where monumentalism becomes primary in the chosen character of a cycle of one-figure paintings. 

The painted figures selected by the painter, even though they have a tragic end, that of sacrifice and self-sacrifice, turn into symbols of adoration for the public: for heroism towards the homeland (Vojo Kushi, 1969), of self-sacrifice for the nation (Mic Sokoli, 1976, "Nora e Kelmendi" 1981), of human virtue (Rozafa, 1983). 

The artist's color palette also underwent changes, which is enriched, tends towards the creation of graphic, but also decorative-expressive effects. Figure of artist Sali Shijaku is one of the major figures of the Albanian visual arts. 

The Albanian state has appreciated and honored the artist's contribution with many awards and awarded him several Republic Awards (1956, 1970, 1984, 1989). In 1969 he received the title "Merited Artist" and in 1979 "People's Painter". In 2004, he was awarded the title "Honor of the District of Tirana". 

Meanwhile, 92 works of the artist in painting and sculpture are preserved in the GKA fund, of which 19 drawings (pen, carbon and marker), 7 works in ceramics and 1 in plaster. 

A part of the collection of Shijak's works are exhibited in the main halls of the National Art Gallery in Tirana. The works of Sali Shijaku are located in many countries of the world and today they are part of the collections of collectors inside and outside Albania.