Shalva Kikodze (; 1894–1921) was a Georgian

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

painter,

graphic art A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface,Lado Gudiashvili Lado Gudiashvili ( ka, ლადო გუდიაშვილი; 30 March 1896 – 20 July 1980) was a Georgian painter. Life Gudiashvili was born into a family of a railroad employee. He studied in the Tbilisi school of sculpture and fin ...

and

David Kakabadze Davit Kakabadze ( ka, დავით კაკაბაძე) (20 August 1889 – 10 May 1952) was a leading Georgian avant-garde painter, graphic artist and scenic designer. A multi-talent, he was also an art scholar and innovator in the fi ...

, he is considered a key figure in Georgian art of the early 20th century.

Biography

He was born in a remote Georgian village Bakhvi,

Guria Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia (country), Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 104,338 (2023), with Ozurgeti as the regional cap ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. From 1914 to 1918, he studied at

Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (), also known by the acronym MUZHVZ, was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow ...

. In 1916, he took part in an expedition to the Georgian village Nabakhtevi and made copies of the 15th-century murals from the local church. As a cartoonist, while still studying in Moscow, he began to collaborate with the Georgian Humor magazines ''Lakhti (Skippng Rope), Eshmakis Matrahi (the Devil’s Whip),'' as well as theater magazines: ''Theater and Life, Theater and Music ''and the Russian-language magazine ''Art –'' all published in Tbilisi. He stayed in his motherland for a short period of 1918-1920, and worked chiefly as a theater decorator for Jabadari Theater in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. Afterwards he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he, together with his fellow painters, Gudiashvili and Kakabadze, held an exhibition in 1921. He died in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, on November 7, 1921. Most of his works are now on display at the

Art Museum of Georgia The Art Museum of Georgia (AMG) ( ka, საქართველოს ხელოვნების მუზეუმი, ''sak'art'velos khelovnebis muzeumi''), alternatively known as Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts, is one of the l ...

, Tbilisi, Georgia.

Some important works

* “

Khevsureti Khevsureti () is a historical and ethnographic region in eastern Georgia. Khevsurs are the branch of Kartvelian ( Georgian) people located along both the northern (''Pirikita khevsureti'') and southern (''Piraketa khevsureti'') slopes of the Grea ...

”, 1920 * “

Luxembourg Garden The Jardin du Luxembourg (), known in English as the Luxembourg Garden, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Sénat (Senate Garden), is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. The creation of the garden began in 1612 when Marie ...

”, 1920 * “

n woman holding a jar in her hand”, 1921 * “

Ajaria Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a ...

n women in

chador A chādor ( Persian, ), also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as , is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Azerba ...

s”, 1921 * “In the restaurant”, 1921

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kikodze, Shalva 1894 births 1921 deaths People from Guria People from Kutais Governorate Expressionist painters 20th-century painters from Georgia (country) Soviet painters Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni