Niko Pirosmanashvili
Encyclopedia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
primitivist
Naïve art
Naïve art is a classification of art that is often characterized by a childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique. While many naïve artists appear, from their works, to have little or no formal art training, this is often not true...
painter.
Biography
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
province. His parents, Aslan Pirosmanashvili and Tekle Toklikishvili were farmers. They owned a small vineyard, couple of cows and oxes. He was later orphaned and put in the care of his two elder sisters, Mariam and Pepe. He moved with them to Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
in 1870. In 1872 he worked as a servant for wealthy families and learned to read and write Russian and Georgian. In 1876 he returned to Mirzaani and worked as a herdsman.
Pirosmani gradually taught himself to paint. One of his specialties was painting directly into black oilcloth. In 1882 he, with self-taught George Zaziashvili, opened a painting workshop, where they were making signboards. In 1890 he worked as a railroad conductor. In 1893 he co-founded a dairy farm in Tbilisi which he left in 1901. Throughout his life Pirosmani, who was always poor, was willing to take up ordinary jobs including housepainting and whitewashing buildings. He also work for shopkeepers in Tbilisi ― he was creating signboards, paintings and portraits according to their orders. Although his paintings had some local popularity (about 200 survive) his relationship with professional artists remained uneasy; making a living was always more important to him than abstract aesthetics.
In April 1918 he died of malnutrition
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess , or in the wrong proportions....
and liver failure. He was buried at the Nino cemetery; the exact location is unknown as it was not registered.
Work
Niko Pirosmanashvili’s paintings were represented at the first big exhibition of Georgian painters in 1918. From 1920th few articles were published about him in Georgian periodical press. Interests about Pirosmani especially increased in 1950th ― many books were published in Georgia, Russia and other countries. Biographical film and plays were created, musical compositions were composed. His paintings were exhibited in many countries of Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. Niko’s monument was installed in Tbilisi, museum was opened in Mirzaani. Nowadays, the most part of his works are located in Art Museum of Georgia
Art Museum of Georgia
The Art Museum of Georgia , officially known as Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts , is one of the most important museums in Georgia...
.
At the beginning of 20th century Pirosmani lived in a little apartment not far from Tbilisi railway station.
Pirosmani’s paintings were in influenced by the social conditions, where he lived. There are many works about merchants, shopkeepers, workmen and noblemen groups.
Pirosmanashvili was fond of nature and rural live. He rarely referred to city landscape. Big part of his works are animal paintings. Until today he is the only Georgian animalist. Pirosmani also was attracted by historical figures and themes such as Shota Rustaveli
Shota Rustaveli
Shota Rustaveli was a Georgian poet of the 12th century, and one of the greatest contributors to Georgian literature. He is author of "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" , the Georgian national epic poem....
, Queen Tamar
Tamar of Georgia
Tamar , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was Queen Regnant of Georgia from 1184 to 1213. Tamar presided over the "Golden age" of the medieval Georgian monarchy...
, Giorgi Saakadze
Giorgi Saakadze
Giorgi Saakadze was a Georgian politician and military commander who played an important but contradictory role in the politics of the early 17th-century Georgia...
and others, as well as ordinary Georgian people and their everyday life.
Usually Pirosmani panted on oilcloth. In his paintings it is notable that he didn’t have special education, but it didn’t impede him to create his works ― on the contrary, his paintings are peculiar. Unlike other artists, Niko didn’t aim natural imitation of the nature, didn’t pay attention to details. Some of his paintings are monochrome. The building of his paintings demonstrate the author's sharp compositional consideration. Placements of the figures are frontal, faces doesn’t demonstrate specific mood.
In the 1910s he won the critical enthusiasm of the Russian poet Mikhail Le-Dantyu and the artist Kirill Zdanevich and his brother Ilia Zdanevich
Ilia Zdanevich
Ilia Mikhailovich Zdanevich , known as Iliazd , was a Georgian and French writer and artist, with the Dada movement....
. Ilia Zhdanevich wrote a letter about Pirosmani to the newspaper "Zakavkazskaia Rech", which it published on February 13, 1913. He also undertook to publicise Pirosmani's painting in Moscow. The Moscow newspaper "Moskovskaia Gazeta" of January 7 wrote about the exhibition "Mishen" where self-taught painters exhibited, among them four works by Pirosmani: "Portrait of Zhdanevich", "Still Life", "Woman with a Beer Mug", and "The Roe". Critics writing later in the same newspaper were impressed with his talent.
In the same year an article about Niko Pirosmani and his art was published in Georgian newspaper "Temi" .
The Society of Georgian Painters, founded in 1916 by Dito Shevardnadze, invited Pirosmani to its meetings and began to take him up, but his relations with the society were always uneasy. Although he presented to the Society his painting "Georgian Wedding", one of the members published a caricature of him which greatly offended him. His continuing poverty, compounded by the economic problems caused by the First World War, meant that his life ended with his work effectively unrecognised.
Posthumous reputation
However, he developed an international reputation after the war, when he became admired as a 'naive' painter in Paris and elsewhere. The first book on Pirosmani was published (in Georgian, Russian and French) in 1926. He also inspired a portrait sketch by Pablo PicassoPablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
(1972). Exhibitions of his work have been held in Kiev (1931), Warsaw (1968), Paris (The Louvre) (1969), Vienna (1969), Nice and Marseilles (1983), Tokyo (1986), Zurich (1995) and Turin (2002), Istanbul (2008), Vilnius (2008–2009).
In Russian literature and song
Pirosmani is also known in Russia for the legend of a romantic encounter with a French actress who visited his town; he was deeply in love with her, and to demonstrate it, bought her enough flowers to fill the square in front of her hotel window (allegedly driving himself bankrupt). The story became famous when it was recounted in a poem by Andrei Voznesensky, and later into a hit song by Alla PugachevaAlla Pugacheva
Alla Borisovna Pugacheva or Pugachova , born 15 April 1949), is а Soviet and Russian musical performer. Her career started in 1965 and continues to this day...
, Million of Red Roses.
In film
Pirosmani was the subject of a film by Giorgi Shengelaya, made in 1969, that won the Grand Prix at the Chicago Film Festival in 1972.Director Sergei Parajanov shot a short film entitled "Arabesques on a Pirosmani Theme."
Interesting facts
- Niko Pirosmani is depicted on Georgian lariGeorgian lariThe lari is the currency of Georgia. It is divided into 100 tetri. The name lari is an old Georgian word denoting a hoard, property, while tetri is an old Georgian monetary term used from the 13th century....
. - Periodic newspaper “Pirosmani” is being published in two languages in IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. - There are kept 146 works of Niko Pirosmani in the Art Museum of GeorgiaArt Museum of GeorgiaThe Art Museum of Georgia , officially known as Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts , is one of the most important museums in Georgia...
. 16 paintings are represented in Historical-Ethnographic Museum of SighnaghiSighnaghiSighnaghi is a town in Georgia's easternmost region of Kakheti and the administrative center of the Sighnaghi District. It is one of the country's smallest towns with a population of 2,146 as of the 2002 census. Sighnaghi's economy is dominated by production of wine,traditional carpets and...
. - From 2006 Pirosmani’s works were successfully represented in KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, MinskMinsk- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, VézelayVézelayVézelay is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France. It is a defendable hill town famous for Vézelay Abbey. The town and the Basilica of St Magdelene are designated UNESCO World Heritage sites....
and VilniusVilniusVilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
. The paintings were seen by more than 350 000 viewers. - In March of 2011 it was learned that the writing on the door of Qvrivishvilebi’s wine-cellar, in Ozaani, was made by Niko Pirosmani.
- On 31 May 2011 Georgian law enforcements, during one investigation, found the lost painting of Niko Pirosmani ― “Wounded Soldier”. The painting was examined and proved that it was painted by Niko Pirosmani. “Wounded Soldier” was given to National Gallery of Georgia.
External links
- Niko Pirosmani Home Page
- Biography and Works of Pirosmani
- Biography
- Olga's Gallery: Niko Pirosmani
- A bilingual (TurkishTurkish languageTurkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and GeorgianGeorgian languageGeorgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
) quarterly journal, called Pirosmani http://www.pirosmani.com.tr/ is published in IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. - A contemporary art gallery that exhibits international emerging artists working in painting, photography, glass, ceramics and sculpture called Pirosmani http://www.pirosmaniart.com/ in IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.