$1,088
1929 oil on canvas 45. 5 x 66 cm (18 x 26 in.) signed lower left; inscribed with name, titled and dated on verso LOT NOTES Gevorg Grigorian, otherwise known by the playful nickname “Giotto”, was one of the extremely talented Armenian painters living and working in Tbilisi, Georgia, known as the “Tiflis School” of Armenian fine art, which included Alexander Bashbeuk-Melikian, Gevorg Bashinzhagyan, and many others. Born in 1897 in Tiflis (Tblisi), Giotto studied painting and sculpture at the Caucasian Society of Fine Arts with Bashbeuk-Melikian and Lado Gudiashvili. After spending some time in Moscow during the 1920s, Grigorian was an extremely active exhibitor at art exhibitions in both Tbilisi and Erevan. Tragically, in 1948, Giotto burned 300 of his own paintings, and was expelled from the Artists’ Union of Georgia from 1958-57. This early work by Giotto shows his mastery of color and psychological intensity for which he was known.
Auctioneer:
Shapiro Auctions
Date:
2016-09-17