The Scenes of the Feasts in Georgian Modernist Painting – Aspects of Space and Time

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Tsisia Kiladze

Abstract

The theme of a feast is one of the most important and popular ones in the Georgian modernist painting. In this sense one is immediately referred to the paintings of Niko Pirosmanashvili, where the feast is presented as a universal, sacred event, a ritual of symbolic meaning with no beginning or end. Pirosmani's parties always take place in the open-air settings, air, vineyards, fields, in front of the shops, but not in the interiors. They never happen at the specific locations. The environment always remains conditional and hosts an epic event which is impersonal, eternal, and infinite. The works of the modern artists from the post-Pirosmani generation have changed dramatically when universality and constancy of the universe, the feeling of eternity became violated, some contrasts emerged and sense of resistance and subjectivity increased, the unity of the universe dissolved into different aspects. Unlike the impersonal intersectings by Pirosmani, the modernist artists introduced different, sometimes paradoxical, and synthetic spectrum of a personal space and time. However, even in their works the feasts continued to remain a mystery with all artists attempting to transform it in a subjective way at the same time maintaining the main line of presenting it as a philosophical image of the universe, which originated from the Middle Ages and Pirosmani’s works. The image serves as a symbol of the seventh day of commemoration, when the world was destroyed mercilessly and an eternal, absolute reality became part of the memories. The topic of the holiday can also be perceived as a symbol of Georgian Modernism since a feast is related to the openness of the Georgian culture. The Georgian and Tiflis avant-garde has solemnly brought together different cultures of celebration to create the unity of the opposites.

Published: Nov 13, 2022

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How to Cite
Kiladze, T. (2022). The Scenes of the Feasts in Georgian Modernist Painting – Aspects of Space and Time. Academia, 35–45. Retrieved from https://academia.openjournals.ge/index.php/academia/article/view/3539
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