Pirosmani: the world of a lonely genius

An exhibition of paintings by the famous Georgian artist Pirosmani – Niko Pirosmanashvili (1862–1918). Pirosmani’s exceptional and fascinating works are known throughout the world. He was an artist whose life has become a legend and who is highly regarded as an important influencer of 20th-century avant-garde art, a representative of naïve art, a founder of Georgian art and a symbol of the Georgian national identity.

The exhibition covers all of the essential topics of Pirosmani’s works: city life and ceremonial festivities, epic country life, still lifes, soulful figures of animals, portraits of his contemporaries and historical figures. Pirosmani’s paintings stand out for their style and painting technique, and are fascinating due to their sincerity, their profundity and the meaningfulness hidden behind their seeming simplicity, which on the one hand made his works easily accessible to his clients from the ranks of common people, but on the other hand felt like a revelation in the innovative art of the beginning of the 20th century.

The exhibition has been organised at the initiative and with the support of the Embassy of Georgia to the Republic of Estonia and arranged by the Art Museum of Estonia, the National Agency for the Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia and the Georgian National Museum.

Curator: Aleksandra Murre

Designer: Peeter Laurits