Project Pirosmani: Discover Georgian artists' forgotten creations

Georgia’s National Parliamentary Library has started a new campaign to rediscover and give new life to masterpieces by Georgian artists.

The project, named after famous Georgian painter Niko Pirosmani, aims to detect and collect a variety of digital versions of Georgian artists’ work protected in private archives.

Already within the project two unknown art pieces by Pirosmani were discovered.

Pirosmani produced an astonishing number of works throughout his life --the total figure is over 1,000 -- but only a few have survived, mainly due to the negligence of owners or the closure of  spaces where his paintings were housed, such as cellars, tea rooms, and pubs. (Pirosmani often worked at bars for a cheap lunch or a shot of vodka). 

Within the project, a unique painting titled Funicular by Pirosmani was found through this project. Pirosmani drew it when the funicular opened in 1905 and since then, this painting remained largely unknown. Furthermore, a piece called Arsenal Mountain at Night was considered as lost over time.

Among Pirosmani’s paintings, Arsenal Hill at Night is estimated to be his most expensive creation.

Arsenal Hill at Night by Niko Pirosmani. 

Meanwhile Georgian artist Ilia Zdanevich took several of Pirosmani's paintings to Moscow for the Target exhibition in 1913.

During the Soviet period, many Russian artists, writers and public figures purchased Pirosmani’s paintings in Georgia for their private collections. Because of this, for a long period of time the Arsenal Hill at Night was believed to be missing. 

But as it turned out,  Lily Brik, the long term-muse of Russian writer Vladimir Mayakovsky, purchased several paintings, including this one, from Zdanevich. She gifted the painting to her sister and brother-in-law, French writer Louis Aragon. By this way Pirosnami's painting appeared in France.

Prior to its ownership by Zdanevich, the painting belonged to someone named Bayadze, who operated a tavern in Tiblisi. In 1920, the poet Kolau Cherniavsky found the painting in a local neighbourhood where Bayadze's bar was located. 

When the Arsenal Hill at Night painting went to auction in 2003 for the first time, it sold at  Sotheby's Auction for $1.8 million USD.

The second time the painting sold for £1,075,369 at the MacDougall’s Fine Art Auction in London.

Now, the National Parliamentary Library is encouraging people to view the exhibition, which it describes as "photo chronicles".

"It is easy, if you owned some piece of art works, just take a photo and send it to us. We will give it new life and pose it on the internet,” a Library representative said.