Niko Pirosmani, Lion-Sun

There is a huge exhibition of Rousseau Le Douanier these days, at the Washington National Gallery, Jungles in Paris. The exhibition's title sounds strange, but as strange as it sounds it's nothing compared with what you see inside - it's unbelievable. I saw it in a hurry, I will try to go this coming Sunday again. It is the largest grouping ever assembled of Rousseau's iconic jungle paintings - this guy never left France, his jungles are the fantasies of a city dweller, constructed from visits to the botanical gardens and the zoo, as well as book, magazine, and postcard reproductions of dangerous beasts from distant lands.


Well, neither Pirosmani left ever the Tbilisi neighborhood of the lumpen and the poor, Nachalovce. His bestiarium is the fruit of his imagination - his Giraffe, his Lion-Sun, his Lion, his wild Boar.

Pirosmani's techniques were imposed by his extreme poverty. The predominant color at Pirosmani is black - he got his paint from coffin makers. He collected old tin signboards to have something to paint on. That is why lettering shows sometimes through in the background - you can see some Magaz or Tabak. The advertisement in gold and red on these signboards - Pirosmani's black-and-white visions (Ryszard Kapuscinski, Imperium).

(Click here for the Romanian version)






(Pirosmani)