Self-taught Georgian painter Niko Pirosmanashvili occupies a special place in Georgian painting. The artist, who in fact spent all his life in one city and did not study anywhere, created paintings, which are truly original – national and, at the same time, contemporary.
Niko Pirosmanashvili was born in 1862, in village Mirzaani, Kakheti. Early orphaned Niko, at the age of 8-10 years, found himself in Tbilisi and was brought up in a well-to-do family. At the age of 25, he began his independent life, in 1890-1893 worked at the railway, afterwards for a short period ran his own tavern (dukan). The last 20-25 years of life Niko’s basic occupation and, apparently, the meaning of his life was painting.
Old Tbilisi, owners of taverns, artisans – all this was Pirosmanashvili’s everyday life. Here also appeared the first commissions. Initially there was a demand for advertising signs. Gradually, Niko’s artworks of various genres filled taverns and wineshops of Old Tbilisi.
Pirosmanashvili lived poorly. He had no flat of his own, he never married. In the reminiscences of the artist’s contemporaries his uncomfortable everyday life and personal qualities are stressed: honesty and pride. Niko, dressed in shabby clothes, was distinguished by such bearing that ironically he was nicknamed “Count”. He did not have his own accommodation and a family of his own. The love story of Niko Pirosmani for the French actress Marguerite de Sevres resembles a legend. His love story with French actress Marguerite de Sevres appears as a legend, Aktrisa Margarita arrived in Tbilisi on a tour in 1905. It is said that the artist once gave all the flowers in Tbilisi to Marguerite.
The first discoverers of Niko Pirosmani were famous artists of the 20th c.: Ilya and Kirill Zdanevich and Mikhail Le-Danteu. All three were representatives of the leading creative circle of Russian Avant-garde. The students, who arrived in Tbilisi from Russia on holidays, in fact discovered an unknown self-taught painter, who in his work was solving topical artistic problems of their contemporary western painting. They are also credited with introducing the work of Niko Pirosmani beyond the boundaries of Georgia. In 1913, 4 paintings by Pirosmanashvili were presented at a well-known Avant-garde exhibition in Moscow – Мишень (Target). The works attracted attention. Articles were published on the self-taught painter in the Russian and French press. The first success, as it were, occurred in the artist’s life. However, his uncomfortable life did not improve. Soon the First World War broke out, life in the country was hard…Many taverns were shut down. The conditions of the lonely painter’s life became especially aggravated.
After the Zdanevich, well-known Georgian painter and public figure Dimitri Shevardnadze, having returned to his homeland from Germany in 1916, also paid attention to the self-taught painter and tried to support him, the newly created Society of Georgian Artists episodically managed to render him assistance. Once, when Lado Gudiashvili went to visit Pirosmanashvili, he failed to find him. The painter had already died.
The story of Pirosmani is shrouded in mystery. His biographical details and dates remain elusive and imprecise. Niko Pirosmanashvili died alone, so even his grave is unknown… After 50 years from his death, in 1969, his personal exhibition took place at the exhibition hall of one of the greatest museums of the world – Louvre. This was followed by exhibitions in Vienna, Berlin, Tokyo…
Niko Pirosmani’s work is now celebrated as a treasure of world art. Interest in his art continues to grow in the 21st century, with renowned museums around the globe showcasing his pieces.
The Pirosmani exhibition held at the Albertina Museum (Vienna, Austria) from 2018 to 2019 was included in the top ten modernist exhibitions of 2019.
In 2023, two major exhibitions of the artist’s work took place, at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Humlebeak, Denmark) and Fondation Beyeler (Riehen, Switzerland).