Artist in focus - Giorgi (Gigo) Gabashvili

Artist in focus • Giorgi (Gigo) Gabashvili / გიგო გაბაშვილი (1862-1936) was one of the founders of the Georgian academic school and easel painting. He was also the first artist in the history of Georgian art to create symbolist compositions. Gabashvili’s art is distinguished by its high level of professionalism and remarkable diversity of genres. He created portraits, landscapes, and historical-ethnographic scenes. It is remarkable that Gigo Gabashvili, the founder of the Georgian Realist School, was so deeply captivated by Symbolism. Gigo Gabashvili was not only one of the founders of Georgian Realism, but his symbolist works can also be seen as precursors to Modernism. Consequently, the origins of modern Georgian art may be moved back by at least a decade—if not by up to fifteen years—to the early twentieth century.