Tallinn Hosts Niko Pirosmani Exhibition

Estonia’s capital Tallinn is hosting the exhibition of Georgia’s world famous artist, Niko Pirosmani (1862–1918), named ‘The World of a Lonely Genius.’

The exhibition was opened in Mikkeli Museum on 23 March and will last until August 11.

The event has been organized on 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.

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 Mikkeli Museum website reads.

The museum also says Pirosmani 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 naive art, a founder of Georgian art and a symbol of the Georgian national identity.”

The exhibition is being held as part of the 100th anniversary of the Art Museum of Estonia. Most of the works of Pirosmani belong to the permanent collection of the Mirzaani Museum in Georgia and have not been displayed outside the museum before. The exhibition opened with a focus on the graphic portrait of Pirosmani created by Pablo Picasso in Paris in 1972.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition was attended by the officials from Estonia, Parliament and government institutions, diplomatic corps accredited in Estonia, cultural and business circles, NGOs and media. The representatives of the Georgian diaspora in Estonia also attended the event.

In addition, on March 23 and 24, exhibition-educational lessons for children and adults took place in the museum building, dedicated to Niko Pirosmani's works. The lessons were given in English (with Estonian translation) and Russian by specially invited teachers from Georgia’s National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia.

By Thea Morrison

Image source: Mikkeli Museum Facebook