(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 :. | Porter with a Wineskin | A Black Wild Boar | Brooder with Chicks | A Sitting Yellow Lion | A Robber with a Stolen Horse |
Related Artists:
Giovanni Battista Castagneto
painted Seascape in 1851 - 1900
Carl Oscar Borg
Swedish-born American Sculptor, 1879-1947 was a Swedish painter who emigrated to the United States around 1900. Borg was influenced by the nature of Arizona and New Mexico, and his works were widespread in American galleries. Borg was a founding member of the Painter's Club of Los Angeles and the California Art Club.
karl yens
1868-1945 was a United States painter who specialised in coastal views. Born in Germany, he emigrated to the U.S. and settled in Laguna Beach, California. He was a founding member of the California Water Color Society.