Art of Georgia
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Wednesday, May 8
When talking about Georgian art and artists, Niko Pirosmani is the first one that comes to everyone’s mind. Never recognized during his lifetime, Pirosmani lived and died in severe poverty. He was the youngest out of three children, and, growing up, he was a happy kid. The family wasn’t particularly rich, but nevertheless they could still support him and his siblings, Mariam and Pepe. But the happy years ended soon when his father passed away.
Looking at Pirosmani’s paintings, one can quickly see how much he loved his family. One of his paintings, called Georgian Woman with Children is created in dark colors.
Posthumously, after WWI, his popularity grew, when his naive style spread in the art circles of Paris, and the first book of his work was published in 1926.
A legend, which also helped cement his reputation, was that he had a romantic encounter with a French actress with whom he fell deeply in love. He thus filled the square outside of her hotel window with flowers, allegedly making himself bankrupt. His works have since been in exhibitions all around the world.
In 2018, after 100 years of his death, his paintings were exhibited in Albertina Museum, Vienna next to the paintings of Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso.
Pirosmani's work is bound to its own world, while skilfully reflecting on his contemporary times.
Another distinguished Georgian painter is the brilliant Elene Akhvlediani. One of the most admired artists in Georgia’s history, who is best known for her paintings of Tbilisi’s streets. As she said, 'Paris is beautiful, but Tbilisi is a real miracle.'
Akhvladiani had diverse interests, she loved singing, just as much as she loved painting. It is a well-known fact that Elene wanted to be a singer, she even went to music school. As she said in one of her letters, 'Indeed, I love music more than all other arts, even my own.'
After receiving education in Tbilisi, Elene pursued her studies in Italy and after that, in France. She was an exceptional student - motivated and smart. After her studies, she came to Georgia with a great deal of experience. She started to do costume designs for theater, and after this Akhvlediani designed sketches of costumes for films 'Chrichina,' 'Eteri’s Song,' 'Suspended Song,' later – for Sergo Parajanov’s film 'Sayatnova.'
One of the responses to her art is that 'Elene Akhvlediani’s landscapes are true, but never represent exact registration of nature because their truth is the poetic truth.'
Petre Otskheli should not leave our focus when speaking about Georgian artists.
From early childhood, one would be lucky if one saw Petre without a pencil in his hand. Drawing was his passion; he expressed himself through his sketches. Otskheli was a very promising youngster, in 1927 he had a chance to design a production of A. Lunacharsky’s play 'The Fire Starters' for the Workers Theater. This was the time when Kote Marjanishvili discovered him. Marjanishvili was so impressed by Otskhelis work that he immediately invited him to join his team. The invitation turned into a partnership that lasted for years.
Once a bright mind was killed during the Great Purge of Stalin. Charged for treason, he was only 30 years old. His works are still very popular in today’s Georgia.
To this day, critics are not sure why he decided to stay in the theatre instead of becoming an independent artist. The answer is simple; he loved theater. He loved it because he had a chance to see Georgian artists and capture them in the environment no other could.
