(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 :. | Lion | Village | The Ferry at Didubeh | Organ-Grinder | A Family Celebration |
Related Artists:
Jakob Mertens
Jakob Merten (August 11, 1809 - February 22, 1872) was a German Catholic theologian who was born in Wittlich. He studied theology in Trier, where in 1833 he received his ordination. Subsequently he became a chaplain in Trier, where he worked closely with Franz Peter Knoodt (1811-1889). From 1843 to 1868 he was a professor of philosophy at the Episcopal Seminary in Trier. Initially a prominent follower of Anton Genther's philosophy, Merten eventually abandoned Gentherianism as his career progressed. He was author of an essay on Gentherian philosophy titled Hauptfragen der Metaphysik in Verbindung mit der Speculation (Primary Questions of Metaphysics in Association with Speculation) (1840). Other noted works by Merten include: Grundriss der Metaphysik, (Outline of Metaphysics); 1848 Der selige Frings und sein Freund als Antigentherianer; 1852 Bemerkungen zur Metaphysik von Balmes, (Remarks on the Metaphysics of Balmes); 1859
wilhelm von gegerfelt
född 9 november 1844 i Göteborg, död 1920, målare, son till arkitekten Victor von Gegerfelt. von Gegerfelt studerade 1861-63 vid konstakademien i Köpenhamn, 1864-67 vid akademien i Stockholm och 1867-72 i D??sseldorf, varefter han överflyttade till Paris. Där arbetade han sig till en helt ny teknik och blev jämte Alfred Wahlberg den förste svenske representanten för det moderna stämningslandskapet. Han gjorde studieresor till Frankrikes nordkust, till hemlandet och till Italien, målade skymning över Venedigs kajer, månsken över lagunerna, kritklippor vid Engelska kanalen i gråstämning, svenska sommarnätter, allt med elegant pensel, smekande färg och livligt föredrag. Gegerfelt är representerad på Nationalmuseum av Stormen (akvarell, motiv från Dalarna, inköpt 1886) och Strand på Hallands Väderö (i olja, 1893) samt på Göteborgs konstmuseum av Strandgata i Venezia (1884), oljemålningen Vinterafton på Hallands Väderö (1893) samt akvarellen Fjällbacka.
Otto Eerelman
Dutch, 1839-1926