A Pioneer of Azerbaijani Satire: The Life and Art of Azim Azimzade Born in 1880 in the oil-rich village of Novxanı near Baku, Russia, Azim Azimzade emerged as a uniquely self-taught artistic voice during a period of immense social and political upheaval. His early life was steeped in the realities of industrial labor; his father worked in the burgeoning oil industry, a landscape that would subtly but profoundly influence young Azim’s worldview. Unlike many artists of his time, Azimzade received no formal training, forging instead an independent path fueled by keen observation and a growing c…