Highly educated, Dr. Vasil Nenov studied in Geneva and medicine in Nancy, he was fascinated by the then modern left-wing ideas, which he also passed on to his son. Maintains relations with actors from the left political sector, such as Yanko Sakazov, as evidenced by letters stored in the NIM. From a photograph taken from his son's home and subsequently given to the NIM, it is clear that he was a military doctor in the Balkan War. True to his views, Dr. Vasil Nenov professes the idea of prevention of the population and free medical care, publishes brochures on popular medicine, such as "Health Guidelines for the People", "The Doctor and the People's Health", "Be Healthy", kept in the NIM . Because of his visions, he is often local in different parts of Bulgaria, usually in more secluded and remote settlements.
Together with his father, Ivan Nenov constantly traveled, for a longer time they stayed in Vidin and Kyustendil, after which he moved to Sofia. In Vidin, Ivan Nenov began to paint, but sculpture attracted him more. As a high school student in Kyustendil, he met Vladimir Dimitrov-Maistora and the future famous artists Asen Vasiliev, Stoyan Venev, Nikolay Dyulgerov, Boris Eliseev, Vasil Evtimov, Kiril Tsonev, etc., some of whom he remained friends with until the end of his life .
In 1919, he entered as a part-time student of sculpture at the Academy of Arts in Sofia under Prof. Zheko Spiridonov, but the following year he reoriented himself to painting and studied painting first under Prof. Nikola Ganushev, then under Prof. Nikola Marinov. In 1925, he graduated with honors from the Academy of Arts, and a brilliant future seemed to open before him, but a serious illness from tuberculosis put him "out of action" for nearly two years. In order to heal, he spent the summer of 1927 in Boyana, and then he became closely acquainted with the frescoes of the Boyana church. He visited the small church daily, contemplated the images for a long time, thoroughly studied the icon painting tradition and the technique of applying the frescoes. By his own admission, this gave him an important impulse to search for new ways to renew his painting.
At the academy, Ivan Nenov met his future wife - the artist Ekaterina Savova (1901-1980), whom they married in 1928. In the same year, the 26-year-old painter was accepted into the "Native Art" society, uniting the elite of Bulgarian art, but gradually his searches lead him in another direction. In 1932, he left it and joined the "young" association - the Society of New Artists.
His trips to Italy, especially when he worked in Turin and in the ceramic center in Albisola (1935-1937) and Paris, had a great influence on the clarification of the "Ivan Nenov style". In 1936, he participated in a general art exhibition of the Piedmont region in Turin and was awarded at the 6th Triennale of Applied Arts in Milan with a bronze medal and diploma, which, together with other documents, entered the museum collection. He visited Greece, Vienna, worked in Munich and Berlin (1941-1942), exhibited in Venice (1942). In 1943, he was honored at the XVII OHI with the Great Union Award - a golden sign for the painting "By the Sea", it is written in the letter of the union kept in the museum.
Excellently prepared, who knows several languages, Ivan Nenov appears in the press with his articles on art, his most significant initiative being the celebration of Cézanne in Bulgaria. A letter from "Vestnik za zhenta", preserved in NIM, speaks of the fact that he was a long-time and desired collaborator of the newspaper, as well as of other publications. He also writes theoretical articles and participates in discussions about the development of art in our country.
During the Second World War, as a result of the bombing of Sofia, his studio was hit (as evidenced by the Service Note of the Capital Garrison from the "Ivan Nenov-Ekaterina Savova-Nenova" collection), as a result of which many of his works were destroyed. The same fate befell the paintings of his wife Ekaterina Savova-Nenova.
After the war and the changes in the political system in our country, he won a competition for a docent and was appointed in 1945 to the Art Academy, where he founded and directed the mosaic studio. But in 1950 he was forced to leave and for a long time left the artistic life in our country. In this period, he turned to ceramics, works in small plastic, graphics.
In the 60s, especially in the 70s, the gradual rehabilitation of Ivan Nenov began and he was awarded the highest orders and medals, some of them such as the "Stara Planina" 4st century orders, "Georgi Dimitrov" and Hero of Socialist Labor are today kept in NIM. Opened several solo exhibitions. He died on September 1997, 95 at the age of XNUMX.
The wife of Ivan Nenov - Ekaterina Savova-Nenova was born in 1901 in Sofia in a wealthy family of the famous construction contractor of public buildings Eng. Georgi Savov. Since the "Ivan Nenov-Ekaterina Savova-Nenova" collection of NIM includes photographs, postcards and documents of Ekaterina Savova-Nenova's father, it is also worth dedicating a few lines to him.
Engineer Georgi Savov was born in Vratsa, he participated in the wars. Because of his profession as a construction contractor, he often changes his place of residence. In the first decade of the 1903th century, he was in Pleven, where he built some of the most impressive buildings in the city. In 1906-1905, he built the Chapel-mausoleum "St.George the Victorious", according to the data of RVIM - Pleven and the researchers Veselka Bogdanova and Sonia Lazarova. In the following years, engineer Georgi Savov built the building of the former bathhouse (1908-XNUMX) in Pleven, now a gallery where the collection of Academician Svetlin Rusev is presented. He also won an auction for the repair of the Pleven City Hall building, according to the State Agency "Archives"-Pleven.
Ekaterina Savova-Nenova is among the famous names of women artists who worked particularly actively between the two world wars. He graduated from the art academy in 1925 under Prof. Nikola Marinov, and from 1926 he became a member of the Society of Independent Artists. One of the founders of the Society of Women Artists. In 1937, he won a silver medal for a lady's portrait at the World Exhibition of Arts and Techniques in Paris, the diploma of which is kept in the NIM. It is clear from the documents from the museum collection that from 1943 (until 1962) she was a drawing teacher at the Institute for the Training of Children's Teachers in Sofia. There are several solo exhibitions, invitations for which and catalogs are kept at NIM. He died in 1980 in Sofia.
Among the other exhibits that belonged to Ekaterina Savova-Nenova are her awards and honors, such as the Order of Cyril and Methodius, 1930st degree. She and Ivan Nenov have one daughter, Elka (1969-XNUMX), who graduated in architecture. He works at the Center for Industrial Aesthetics, he is a designer of several public buildings. A number of her objects are also part of the "Ivan Nenov-Ekaterina Savova-Nenova" collection.
