Sirak Skitnik (1883-1943)

In 1883 Panayot Hristov - known as Sirak Skitnik, was born. In 1903 he graduated at the seminary and began to work as a teacher in Nikopol, and after that in his native town. In 1908 he went in Saint Petersburg. There he was studying Art of painting until 1912, when he returned to Bulgaria to take part in the Balkan War. In Russia he was making theater set-scenes and posters to earn his own living. In 1912 Sirak Skitnik participated in the exhibition of the Youth Union in Saint Petersburg. His works got the positive appreciation of Alexander Benoa and Nicolas Roerich. He started to publish his works after the War. He was a coeditor in Zlatorog magazine and wrote a lot of poetry for many other Bulgarian magazines. In 1919 he established the National Art Union together with Nikolay Rainov and Ivan Milev. In 1923 – 1924 he was a dramatist and an artistic secretor of the National Theater, where he produced the play of Meterlink Monna Vanna. In 1935 Sirak Skitnik was appointed an operative manager of the Bulgarian National Radio. He died on Mart 5, 1943.