House-Museum, Exhibition Hall

 
“The Fruit Seller”


Interior of Nickala’s House

Location: Kakheti, Dedoplistskaro Municipality, Village of Mirzaani; Distance from Tbilisi -135 km; Distance from Signagi - 10 km
Open: Daily, working hours: 10:00 - 17:00, Day Off- Monday
Address: Dedoplistskaro Municipality, Village of Mirzaani
Access: Minibus: Tbilisi-Zemo Machkhaani- Mirzaani

The Museum offers to visit dwelling house of XX century legendary Georgian artist Nicko Pirosmanishvili where several of his original works are presented in the exhibition halls. At the same time several pictures of the most celebrated Georgian artists are presented here, coupled with the world-famous lithograph of Pablo Picasso “Pirosmanishvili Portrait.” The museum possesses also the unique collection of old handmade kilims and carpets one of which was weaved by the artist’s mother. The museum has got rather large set of ethnographic material that clearly reflects traditional lifestyle of the historical province of Kizikhi.

Nicko Pirosmanishvili (1862 - 1918)

Nicko Pirosmanishvili was born in 1862 in the village of Mirzaani. From his early age the future artist was deeply interested in painting and used to paint himself a lot, although he never had got any special or professional artistic education.
In 1880-es in cooperation with Giorgi Zaziashvili he established a kind of cooperative – an artistic workshop, although finally this venture was abandoned as totally unsuccessful and Pirosmanishvili was forced to join the railway station crew were he worked as a check-taker. However, this career was a burden for him and he quit the job shortly. Some tome later he found shelter with tavern-keepers where he used to paint the interiors, posters, signs and time to time draw portraits upon orders.
Pirsomani creativity is clearly displayed in almost every genre of painting he has performed, whether in portrait, landscape painting, still life, or animalistic painting etc …. All of his works contain clear message that the artist has never got any academic artistic education; however his artistic “illiteracy” never has become an obstacle for the viewer to perceive and conceive the artist’s world; just the reverse- it rather helped to understand details of his individual style of painting.

In 1912 Nicko Pirosmanishvili met Georgian artists of polish origin brothers Ilia and Kirill Zdanevich and the following year Ilia pained Pirismanishvili’s portrait , which some time later was exhibited in Moscow together with Nicko’s picture “The Deer”

In 1918 Pirosmanishvili’s works were exhibited at the first grand exhibition of Georgian artists and first album of his selected works was published in mid 1920-es.

Last years the artist spent in extremely unfavorable conditions, in Sadguri (railway station) neighborhood, under the stairs of house No. 29, on Molokani (now Pirosmani) street. From there he was taken to public medical establishment where he passed away shortly after hospitalization. Abandoned by everyone he was buried as unknown and currently his grave is lost.