2006
gesso and tempera on canvas laid on panel
50 x 40 cm (19 3/4 x 15 3/4 in.)
signed in Georgian lower right; signed, titled and dated on verso; bears a signed authenticating inscription from the artist`s wife, Tsitsino Tsertsvadze, on verso

EXPERTISE
We are grateful to Keti Abramishvili for confirming the authenticity of this painting.

LOT NOTES
Merab Abramishvili was a prominent Georgian artist, whose talent started to bloom at an early age. His art teacher and mentor, Alexander Bandzeladze, encouraged young Merab to search, develop, and pursue his own visual style and language. In his teenage years, Abramishvili took part in research expeditions to study the Georgian frescoes of the 7th century at Ateni Sioni Church, led by his father - Dr. Guram Abramishvili - an expert in Georgian and Oriental medieval art. This journey inspired the artist so much that he started to copy the frescoes from the church walls and continued this work for many years. He later merged the style of Oriental miniatures with the gesso technique he learned from those frescoes. This resulted in a unique style of painting that Abramishvili works are known for. His first important piece, 300 Aragvians (1978), was painted with tempera on a board with gesso priming and finished with egg yolk solution. With a mural-like representation, the artwork introduces a viewer to the complex combination of diverse philosophies and cultural aesthetics that would remain unaltered throughout the artist`s life. Merab Abramishvili returned to ancient religious and mythological subjects over and over again.