President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Latif Karimov, a prominent master of Azerbaijani fine arts, renowned carpet scholar, and People's Artist. The jubilee, marking the birth of the USSR State Prize laureate, is scheduled to be observed in November 2026.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, the presidential order tasks the Ministry of Culture and the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences with developing and implementing a comprehensive action plan dedicated to the artist's legacy. Karimov is widely recognized for defining the ornamental and compositional characteristics of Azerbaijani carpets and developing a systematic classification that remains the most authoritative source for international researchers today.
Latif Karimov (1906–1991) played a transformative role in the development of national art, blending traditional craftsmanship with academic research. He was the visionary behind the establishment of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum in Baku, the first of its kind in the world. His extensive body of work, including intricate sketches for portrait and monumental carpets, continues to serve as a cornerstone for the preservation of Azerbaijan's carpet-weaving traditions, which are recognized by UNESCO as part of the world's intangible cultural heritage.
