Ralitza Sarailieva

Ralitsa Ilieva was born in 1971 in Sofia, Bulgaria. In 1997, she graduated from the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, majoring in Conservation and Restoration. While still a student, she painted replicas of old Bulgarian icons, adhering to the old traditional icon painting technology, which she had the opportunity to learn directly from the originals found in the restoration studios of the academy. After graduating, she continued to paint icons – replicas of old Orthodox models. At the same time, she painted copies of paintings by the great Western European masters Simone Martini, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, El Greco, etc. These works are now owned by private collections in the country and abroad – Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France, the USA. Ralitsa also restored many old Bulgarian and Russian icons and Western European paintings owned by private individuals and galleries, most of which are in Germany. After 1997, Ralitsa Ilieva participated in 7 consecutive icon exhibitions in Hamburg, Germany, where she was specially invited to demonstrate live the old Bulgarian icon painting and restoration techniques. The exhibition was organized with the assistance of the Bulgarian-German Society in Hamburg and with the invaluable help of the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Bulgaria – Mr. Dr. Imayer and his family.