(born Niko Pirosmanashvili; May 5, 1862-1918) was a Georgian primitivist painter. Pirosmani was born in the Georgian village of Mirzaani to a pleasant family in the Kakheti province. His family owned a small vineyard. He was later orphaned and put in the care of his two elder sisters. He moved with them to Tbilisi in 1870. In 1872 he worked as a servant for wealthy families and learned to read and write Russian and Georgian. In 1876 he returned to Mirzaani and worked as a herdsman. Pirosmani gradually taught himself to paint. One of his specialties was painting directly into black oilcloth. In 1882 he opened a workshop in Tbilisi which was unsuccessful. In 1890 he worked as a railroad conductor, and in 1895 worked creating signboards. In 1893 he co-founded a dairy farm in Tbilisi which he left in 1901. Throughout his life Pirosmani, who was always poor, was willing to take up ordinary jobs including housepainting and whitewashing buildings. Although his paintings had some local popularity (about 200 survive) his relationship with professional artists remained uneasy; making a living was always more important to him than abstract aesthetics.  Related Paintings of Niko Pirosmanashvili :. | A Robber with a Stolen Horse | Molokani Carousing | A Lamb and a Laden Easter Table with Angels Flying in the Background | Brooder with Chicks | A Rich Kinto's Son |
Related Artists:
John Garrick
painted The Death of King Arthur in 1862
Frank Blackwell Mayer
American Painter, 1827-1899
Edmund Tull
(1870 - 1911) was a Hungarian artist born at Szekesfeherver. He was educated at Budapest, Milan, and Paris, being in the last-named city a pupil of J. P. Laurens and of B. Constant. His first work, "The Cathedral of Notre Dame," attracted attention at the exposition in Budapest in 1896, while his etchings are especially valued in London and Vienna. His best-known works are: "Peasant Mowing," "A Lane in Dort," and "The Island of Capri," in the historical art museum of Budapest; and "The Smithy," owned by Archduchess Isabella.