In 1847, a second son Hristo was born in the family of Hristo Ivanov Bankov - a bright, socially active man from an old family and a master of eminii (slippers), in one of the Gabrovo hamlets. And since it is assumed that the numerous family produced more than one painter and priest, the future artist left for Mount Athos when he was only 12 years old. As a novice in the Hilendar monastery, where great educators such as Paisius of Hilendar, Hilarion of Makariopol and Neophyte Bozveli yearned for the freedom of Bulgaria, he absorbed the craft of the painters of Mount Athos. Not long after, his drawing talent was noticed by the abbot of the monastery, and the clergyman decided to send the promising young man to study in Russia.

Before entering the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Hristo Tsokev stayed for seven years at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, where he took monastic vows and mastered the subtleties of icon painting. And when he finished his secular education in 1873, he wrote to the school council with a request to award him the title of "Free Artist" so that he could teach at the newly opened Aprilov High School in his hometown Gabrovo. Unfortunately, his dream did not come true right away, as a place for a drawing teacher has not yet been opened at the school. So he started painting icons for the nearby churches and monasteries.

Faith and art go hand in hand throughout the life of the artist, who, however, was not alien to the national ideal of liberation. Modern researchers even draw a parallel between him and with Bulgarian national hero Levski, since both of them threw away the cassock - one to become a revolutionary, and the other - to paint and participate in the national liberation struggles.

"Looking back at Bulgarian history, we can see many personalities who initially studied in ecclesiastical academies", says Neli Nedeva, curator at the Art Gallery in Gabrovo. "This is largely related to the historical epoch itself. The lack of secular education perhaps made the spiritual realm more accessible to Bulgarians, and besides, the philosophical theme and the premise of this type of education is characteristic of the spiritual personalities of that time. And, yes, we could draw a parallel with Levski.”

"This shows his reformist thinking not just to become a painter, but also a teacher who would introduce academic rules of teaching very far from the familiar model "the father passes the craft to his son" (even Zachary Zograf received an "academic" education from his father)", continues Neli Nedeva. "Immediately after his return to Gabrovo, Hristo Tsokev was placed under surveillance by the Turkish authorities because of suspicion that he was related to the national liberation movement. To avoid arrest, he fled to Svishtov under the official alibi of painting icons in the town's church. Indeed he did, but sufficient evidence indicates that he continues to engage in revolutionary activity.”

An interesting incident on the way to Svishtov will hint at his fine sense of the human face and the ability to capture the invisible essence with which to give completeness to the image.

"Yes, this is a curious story", confirms the curator in the gallery. "Robbers attacked and robbed him, but later he managed to draw their portraits very accurately. Thanks to these portraits, the robbers were caught by the police and sent to prison. This is a testament to his photographic ability to recreate facial features.”

Because of the Ottoman persecutions, Hristo Tsokev spent several years in emigration. In the Romanian city of Alexandria, he participated in the preparation of the Stara Zagora uprising, and in Giurgiu he founded the local branch of the Bulgarian Central Charity Society. He remained in the neighboring country until the Liberation of the Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule in 1878, where he painted portraits and icons for the churches in the two cities and the surrounding area. In 1879, he returned to Gabrovo and in the same year was appointed a drawing and painting teacher at the Aprilov High School. At the first student exhibition in Sofia, the devoted teacher was personally praised by Prince Alexander Battenberg for the works of his graduates.

The artist has bequeathed us a whole gallery of images of prominent fellow citizens - teachers, merchants, craftsmen, their parents and children. Their portraits reflect not only personal traits, but also that energy, human dignity and awareness of the value of the individual, all characteristic of the Bulgarian National Revival period. In their pose, some of them even resemble the images of the church donors depicted on the church walls. Another aspect of his earlier work is religious painting, which can still be seen today in the churches and monasteries of Gabrovo, Svishtovo and Gorno Oryahovitsa.

In 1883, Hristo Tsokev participated with his work in a competition for a teacher in a Sofia male high school and won it. Alas, he lost the battle with tuberculosis and left this world at the age of 36 – enjoying the opportunities in the liberated Fatherland for only five years.

Hristo Tsokev occupied a great place in the annals of Bulgarian fine art, leaving his individual contribution not only in ecclesiastical, but also in secular painting.

"Until Bulgaria's Liberation in 1878, Bulgarians knew painting as a genre only from churches and monasteries with the help of the frescoes and icons in them", says Neli Nedeva. "At the end of the century, they slowly began to open their senses to secular painting thanks to Hristo Tsokev, who is one of the few artists who made this difficult transition. He also made a serious contribution to the emergence and development of Bulgarian art education."

Today, the Gabrovo art gallery bears the name of the great artist and houses five of his paintings plus one icon.

"Unfortunately, Hristo Tsokev did not leave us a big creative legacy", says Neli Nedeva in conclusion. "After his death, his wife Kichka Bedrozova made a donation, which was subsequently distributed between the Sofia City Art Gallery, the National Art Gallery and the Gabrovo Gallery. i.e. three galleries have works of this genius Bulgarian artist in their collections. His paintings have recently begun to appear in private collections, and this means that his work must be rediscovered and re-examined by art critics, as these are works that until now they have not had the opportunity to look at and work with them.”