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01/06/2023 art
A year after having begun working for the railroad, he addressed the head of the transportation department with a request to find him a place to live in Elisavetpolis. However, this request was the second in a row after having previously asked the administration to relocate him to Tbilisi where his elderly parents lived, so that he could receive his inheritance.
30/05/2023 art
In the 1940s, archaeologists discovered the necropolis of the Pitiakhshs, rulers of Iberia (eastern Georgia) in Armazi, which was part of the ancient Georgian capital, Mtskheta. The graves of the ruling aristocracy were distinguished by numerous precious objects, including various types of jewelry: necklaces, rings, earrings, buckles golden clothes adornments. The discovered objects are striking for their sophisticated technical and aesthetic qualities, indicating the highly-developed tradition of goldsmithery in eastern Georgia during the first centuries CE.
16/05/2023 architecture
Located at the crossroads of East and West, a mere 100 years ago Tbilisi was still replete with the coexistence of these two great cultural centers. Multicultural Tbilisi was created by the sharing of cultures, and as such the resultant variety of Eastern styles and free interpretations of Western culture was completely natural. However, Tbilisi offered each culture a local basis and revealed them as being conceived at its own core.
15/05/2023 architecture
The Church of St. Cyricus and Julitta, known as Lagurka, is the most venerated church in Upper Svaneti (a mountainous north-western region of Georgia). July 28th, the commemoration day of the Holy Martyrs St. Cyricus and St. Julitta, is one of the main religious feasts in Svaneti, and is celebrated every year at Lagurka Church. The locals call this feast Kvirikoba (the day of St. Cyricus).
15/05/2023 architecture
The Church of St. George stands in a thick forest on the edge of Daba village in the historic province of Tori, which has also been referred to as Borjomi Gorge since the nineteenth century. The church is built right up against a steep cliff, and its southern wall is nestled in the concavity of the rock.
10/05/2023 architecture
The church was decorated with murals from the very beginning of the 11thc. Unfortunately, very scant fragments of these paintings are preserved in the diaconicon and prosthesis, mostly comprising ornamental bands, as well as a few figures: e.g. the figure of the Prophet Zachariah with an accompanying Georgian inscription. Both the paleography of the inscriptions and the style of the painting reveal many common features with murals from this period in other regions of Georgia, namely Tao-Klarjeti.
02/05/2023 cinema & theatre
Sergo Kobuladze (1909-1978) began working on the curtain for the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater in around 1954-1956. The creation of the curtain in the theater space has always been of special importance. For the audience, the curtain is exceptional, festive, and magnificent. The curtain is not associated with any particular performance. It forms both a real and a visual-conditional boundary of the artistic world. It is most appropriate to consider such a curtain in the context of synthesis of the arts since while being an example of monumental painting corresponding to architecture, it is often also influenced by theatrical and decorative elements.
27/04/2023 architecture
The 19th century was a period when the architecture of Tbilisi underwent a significant change. The entrance hall appeared in the architecture of residential houses, which became a sign of respectability and Europeanization. Since the 1850s-60s, luxuriously decorated entrance halls emerged as an important element of "fashionable" buildings. They determined the culture and atmosphere of urban life, and imparted a festive and characteristic appearance to Tbilisi’s houses. The entrance hall became a link between public and private spaces. Its style of decoration and wall paintings tells us the history and life-story of the house; gives us information about its builder, decorator, and owner; it acted as a kind of “calling card” of the owner and was thus particularly lavishly decorated[1].
13/04/2023 architecture
The Tenth Century Murals of Otkhta Ekleisia Church (Dőrt Kilise) in Tao-Klarjeti (present-day Turkey)
11/04/2023 history
The village of Dmanisi lies some 85 kilometers south-west of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. In the Middle Ages, Dmanisi was one of the most prominent cities and an important stop on the Silk Road. The area has therefore long intrigued archaeologists, who have been excavating the crumbling ruins of a medieval citadel there since the 1930s.
06/04/2023 art
In 1965, an album of Vera Pagava’s sketches that included small-scale pencil drawings was published in Paris. Therein, by use of dots drawn with a tip of a graphite pencil, the artist presents the entire richness of nature. Through application of the simplest materials, she not only designs shapes that are perceived by the eye, but also makes us sense their dynamism, movement, and even hear the rustle of the leaves. And while contemplating these minimalistic graphic compositions, we can feel the light that is distributed throughout the space.
16/03/2023 cinema & theatre
Mariam Aleksidze was a soloist of the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater troupe when she presented her first one-act ballet premiere to the audience. Afterwards, we spoke about the notion of the choreographer, her visions for the future, the possibilities of chamber ballet development in Tbilisi, and of course about her father – the prominent choreographer Giorgi Aleksidze, to whom the novice choreographer’s first staged ballet was dedicated. Mariam said that while her father was still alive, she promised to follow in his footsteps.
14/03/2023 architecture
Tbilisi’s Muslim population appeared after the conquest of the city by Arabs in the early eighth century. Several mosques were erected in Tbilisi during the Middle Ages. The largest among them was the Shi’a mosque that stood on the right bank of the Mtkvari, close to the river. According to oral tradition, it was built by Shah Ismail I of Iran, who invaded Georgia and occupied Tbilisi from 1522 to 1524.
07/03/2023 architecture
The church in Tsromi is one of the most important early medieval buildings in Georgia, from both architectural and historical points of view. According to tradition, the church was erected at the place where St. Razhden the Protomartyr, a fifth-century Iranian convert to Christianity, was executed.
15/02/2023 art
Pirosmani: Here is Georgia’s most famous artist. His biography is vague; the accuracy of the dates is difficult to define. History has preserved just three of his photos, and maybe even a couple of others that are disputed but plausible. However even these three images are subject to controversy.