Ivan Jakhanagiev was born in Sofia, in Bulgaria, in 1948. He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia, graduating in 1977. His artistic activity, with over 30 years of experience and over one hundred solo exhibitions in galleries and public venues in all Europe, includes painting, printing, murals and illustration. A pioneer of body art in his country, Ivan Jakhanagiev is considered among the most important contemporary Bulgarian artists. Particularly famous are his cycles.