Levan Tsutskiridze

Levan Tsutskiridze (January 12, 1926 - ) is a Georgian monumentalist artist, illustrator and painter of frescoes in the Sioni cathedral, Tbilisi. He illustrated The Knight in the Tiger’s Skin, which became a real success. The poem decorated with his illustrations was published in Berlin in German Language twice. It was also published in Tbilisi, Moscow, Yerevan and Japan. Levan Tsutskiridze is also the author of design and illustrations of more than thirty books for which he has received plenty of awards and certificates.

Levan Tsutskiridze was born in a small town of Khashuri. Most of his childhood he spent in a small picturesque village Moliti in mountainous Imereti. When he was eleven he lost his father who became a victim of the 1937 repressions. From that very day the poverty, oppression and eviction of the family began.

Levan Tsutskiridze received primary education at Tbilisi public school, then in 1946, he continued his studies by taking classes of painting and graphic arts at Tbilisi State Academy of Art. He graduated the Academy in 1957. He had studied for twelve years, as from the very first year he was put on a black list; they were punishing him as a disobedient (obstinate) student. He was pushed back from the second academic year to the first, from the fourth to the first; from painting to graphic department… they persisted on punishing him as a ‘’formalist’’.

The punishment went on even after he graduated the Academy of Arts and the post-graduate course too, now, by means of expelling his works from the exhibition list.

The artist’s first personal exhibition was held in 1959 in Tbilisi, at the Union of Architects of Georgia. The exhibition proved his artistic manner to originate from the Georgian traditional fresco, at the same time bearing individual features.

In 1976, a large canvas called “Aspiration” was installed in the port of Poti. In 1977 a monumental picture “Kolkheti”- in the town of Senaki and “Cherishable” based on the Knight in the Tiger’s skin by Shota Rustaveli at the House of Union of Writers of Georgia.

In 1958, for the first time, he participated in the republican exhibition with the painting ‘’Toast’’. The exhibition lasted the whole month, but his picture hung at the Blue Gallery for only three days. his illustrations of the Knight in the Tiger’s Skin and painting ‘’Dance’’ suffered the same fate… in the end recognition finally happened, but with difficulty.

During 1960 and 1970 he was a professor of Tbilisi Academy of Arts and Polytechnic Institute of Georgia (by turns), while during 1971 and 2005 a professor of Chair of Drawing of Tbilisi Academy of Arts.

In 1997 ‘’Data Tutashkhia’’ by Chabua Amirejibi with his illustrations was published. Levan Tsutskiridze also illustrated the seven volume edition of Chabua Amirejibi works published by the ‘’Magticom’’ company in 2001.

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Wikipedia