The Suppers of Pirosmani

(Click here for the Romanian version)

Pirosmani painted suppers like Veronese, says Ryszard Kapuscinki in his Imperium, but he adds immediately, only Niko's suppers are Georgian and secular.
Against a background of the Georgian landscape, a richly laid table; at this table Georgians are drinking and eating. The table is in the foreground. It is the most important thing. The culinary fascinated Niko. What will there be to eat, what will man gorge himself on? All this Niko would paint. He depicted what he would like to eat and what he would not eat, not today and maybe nor ever.
Tables piled high. Roasted lambs. Greasy piglets. Wines red and heavy like calves' blood. Juicy watermelons. Fragrant pomegranates.
There is a kind of masochism in this painting, a sticking on the knife into one's own stomach, although Niko's art is cheerful, even humorous.








(Pirosmani)