Natela Iankoshvili (sometimes Ianqoshvili) ( ka, ნათელა იანქოშვილი) (28 August 1918 – 12 October 2008) 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. A native of

Gurjaani Gurjaani ( ka, გურჯაანი) is a town in Kakheti, a region in eastern Georgia, and the seat of the Gurjaani Municipality. It is located in the Alazani River Plain, at an elevation of 415 m above sea level. Gurjaani is first recorded ...

, Iankoshvili studied from 1937 until 1943 at the Tbilisi State Academy of Art. She later became a member of the Union of Artists. Her instructors included

Lado Gudiashvili Lado Gudiashvili ( ka, ლადო გუდიაშვილი; 30 March 1896 – 20 July 1980) was a Georgian artist of the 20th century. Gudiashvili was born into a family of a railroad employee. He studied in the Tbilisi school of sculp ...

, Davit Kakabadze, and Sergo Kolubadze. She was active as a graphic artist and illustrator as well; her illustrations were used for a Japanese edition of ''

The Knight in the Panther's Skin ''The Knight in the Panther's Skin'' ( ka, ვეფხისტყაოსანი, tr literally "the one with the skin of a tiger") is a Georgian medieval epic poem, written in the 12th or 13th century by Georgia's national poet Shota Rustav ...

'' published in 1966. Iankoshvili was married to the writer Lado Avaliani, with whom she lived in a small, cramped apartment 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 ...

. So little space did they have that she was required to work during the day, leaving him space to write at night. The couple had no children. The artist continued to live in the apartment after Avaliani's death. She died in 12 October 2008 and was buried at the

Didube Pantheon The Didube Pantheon ( ka, დიდუბის მწერალთა და საზოგადო მოღვაწეთა პანთეონი) is a cemetery in Tbilisi, Georgia, where some of the most prominent writers, artists, s ...

next to her husband. Iankoshvili refused to conform to the expected

social realist Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

style of the Soviets, favoring instead a neo-expressionist manner of painting which was to become her hallmark. Even so, she was able to travel, visiting Cuba and Mexico during the course of her career. The works produced during these sojourns were later displayed in Tbilisi. At 42, she had a solo exhibition at the Tbilisi Art Gallery, becoming the first woman artist so honored. Iankoshvili was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Zurab Tsereteli Museum of Modern Art in 2018; it marked the first time in 45 years her work was given a solo show in the country of her birth. In 2000 a museum dedicated to her work, containing over one thousand pieces, was opened in the Georgian capital; formerly operated by the government, it is currently private. She is the subject of a monograph edited by Mamuka Bliadze, to published by the

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...

in July 2020. Her work may be found in the collection of the

Georgian Museum of Fine Arts Georgian Museum of Fine Arts ( ka, ქართული სახვითი ხელოვნების მუზეუმი) is a private art museum located on the Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, Georgia (country). The construction broke gr ...

.''Catalogue, Georgian Museum of Fine Arts''. Tbilisi, Georgian Museum of Fine Arts, n.d.

References

1918 births 2007 deaths Women painters from Georgia (country) 20th-century painters from Georgia (country) 21st-century painters from Georgia (country) People from Gurjaani Tbilisi State Academy of Arts alumni 20th-century women painters 21st-century women painters {{Georgia-painter-stub