BIOGRAPHY

Gigo Gabashvili (1862–1936) is widely celebrated as one of the founding fathers of modern Georgian realist painting.
Educated at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg and the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, he seamlessly combined academic mastery with vivid realistic depictions of life across the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Gabashvili’s extensive oeuvre spans detailed portraits, landscapes, and historical compositions. Holding the historic distinction of the first-ever solo exhibition in Tbilisi (1891), and serving as a founding professor of the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts (1922), he deeply shaped future generations of modern Georgian masters.