Giorgi "Gigo" Ivanes dze Gabashvili ( ka, გიორგი ��იგოივანეს ძე გაბაშვილი) (November 9, 1862 – October 28, 1936) was a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

painter and educator. One of the earliest Georgian representatives of the Realist School of Georgian painting, his work is known for covering a wide range of subjects, landscapes and scenes of everyday life through orientalist lens. Although not widely known in

the West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...

, Gabashvili's paintings are highly valued - the artist's late 19th century painting ''The Bazaar in Samarkand'', originally commissioned by

Charles Richard Crane Charles Richard Crane (August 7, 1858 – February 15, 1939) was a wealthy American businessman, heir to a large industrial fortune and connoisseur of Arab culture, a noted Arabist. His widespread business interests gave him entree into domestic a ...

, sold for $1.36 million

dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Un ...

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

in 2006.

Biography

Born in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

, Georgia (then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

), Gabashvili was educated at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

(1886–1888) and the

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...

(1894–1897). Returning to his homeland, he made a debut as the first artist to have been honored with a solo exhibition in Tbilisi. From 1900 to 1920, he taught at the art school operated by the Caucasus Society for Promotion of Fine Arts. Gabashvili was one of the founding professors of the

Tbilisi State Academy of Arts The Tbilisi State Academy of Arts ( ka, თბილისის სახელმწიფო სამხატვრო აკადემია) is one of the oldest universities in Georgia and Caucasus. It is located in central Tbilisi near ...

(1922) and was granted the title of the

People's Artist People's Artist is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states (and communist states in general), as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the USS ...

of the

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...

(1929). He taught among others

Apollon Kutateladze Apollon Karamanovich Kutateladze (in Georgian language, Georgian: , in Khoni – in Tbilisi) was a Soviet and Georgian Painting, painter. Early life Apollon Kutateladze started to study in Poti, Georgia (country), Georgia. He continued to st ...

and

Elene Akhvlediani Elene Akhvlediani () (April 5, 1898 in Telavi – December 30, 1975 in Tbilisi) was a 20th-century Georgian painter, graphic artist, and theater decorator. Akhvlediani is famous for her depictions of Georgian towns, for her illustrations for t ...

. Gabashvili remained a staunch realist and made known his opposition to left-wing art. He died in Tsikhisdziri,

Kobuleti Municipality Kobuleti ( ka, ქობულეთის მუნიციპალიტეტი) is a district of Georgia, in the autonomous republic of Adjara. Its main town is Kobuleti. Since 1921, the municipality's territory has been included in the Kob ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, in 1936.

Works

Gigo Gabashvili is best known for his series of vivid portraits of peasants, townsmen, and noblemen ("The Three Townsmen", 1893; "The Sleeping

Khevsur Khevsurians ( ka, ხევსურები) are an ethnic sub-group of Georgians, mainly living in Khevsureti, on both sides of the Caucasus Mountain Chain in the watersheds of the rivers Aragvi and Argun. There are some villages in Khevi, ...

", 1898; "The Drunk Khevsur", 1899; "A

Kurd ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...

", 1903–1909; "The Three Generals", 1910; etc.) as well as multifigure scenes from Georgian (" Alaverdoba Festival", 1899) and

Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

life – many of them based on the sketches of his

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

n journey in 1894 ("The Bazaar in

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

", 1894–1897; "The Divan-Bey Pool in

Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...

", 1897; etc.). Most of his works are now on display at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Tbilisi. His 1895 copy of "The Bazaar in Samarkand," created at the request of the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

diplomat and businessman

Charles R. Crane Charles Richard Crane (August 7, 1858 – February 15, 1939) was a wealthy American businessman, heir to a large industrial fortune and connoisseur of Arab culture, a noted Arabist. His widespread business interests gave him entree into domestic a ...

who met him during his travel in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

, was sold for USD 1.36 million at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

in 2006.The Golden Road to Samarkand: the Rebirth of Gigo Gabashvili's Art
. ''Georgia Today''. January 12, 2007.

Gallery

File:Gigo Gabashvili.JPG, ''The Bazaar in Samarkand'', c. 1890s File:Gigo Gabashvili. Old citizen.jpg, ''Old Citizen'', c. 1890s File:Gigo Gabashvili. Bukharians.jpg, ''The Bukharian''s, c. 1890s File:Gigo Gabashvili. Drunk Khevsur.jpg, ''Drunk Khevsur'', 1899

Notes and references

External links

on The Georgian Museum of Photography {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabashvili, Gigo 1862 births 1936 deaths Artists from Tbilisi People's Artists of Georgia 20th-century painters from Georgia (country) Academic staff of the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts Painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters