Van Gogh-Pirosmani exhibition to celebrate Georgian painter in France

The legacy of Georgia’s celebrated 20th century avant-garde painter Niko Pirosmani will continue its journey across Europe to be introduced to museum-goers in France alongside the famed Dutch impressionist Vincent van Gogh.

Some of the most notable works by the self-taught primitivist artist — recognised as one of the major figures of Georgian art — will take up the space of a brand-new exhibition venue in the city of Arles, where the Dutch painter spent the latter years of his life.

Expected to open in March, a dual show of works by Pirosmani and van Gogh is being prepared in a collaboration between the Georgian National Museum (GNM) network and the Vincent van Gogh Foundation in Arles.

See a video for the ongoing Pirosmani display at Vienna’s Albertina Museum:

Seen in Georgia as a new milestone for introducing Georgian avant-garde art to audiences across Europe, the exhibition will be hosted at a brand-new “interdisciplinary art centre” in Arles, GNM Director General David Lordkipanidze told Imedi TV channel on Tuesday.

Lordkipanidze also told channel hosts his network had longer-term plans for co-organising an exhibition featuring Pirosmani with Henri Rousseau, a French primitivist.

The revealing of the news about the Arles display means paintings of the Georgian creative will be seen by art enthusiasts in France after an ongoing display at Vienna’s Albertina Museum is rounded off in January.

Learn facts about Pirosmani’s life and work in an Albertina Museum video below:

Lordkipanidze told Imedi the Albertina exposition had proven an “unprecedented success” with “record-breaking” viewer numbers.

The importance of the event was also stressed from the other side of the collaboration, with Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Director of the Albertina Museum, noting in his comments he considered Pirosmani display to be “one of the most important” for him among the museum’s shows.

Schröder also talked about the legacy of Pirosmani, noting the eastern European avant-garde school would be “unimaginable” without mentioning the Georgian painter among the already recognised names like Marc Chagall and Kazimir Malevich.

The Albertina museum display — which is set to run through January 27 — has already been linked to an increase of awareness on Pirosmani, with one of his works selling for a record-high bid at the Sotheby's Auction last month.