Dimitri Shevardnadze

1885-1937

Dimitri Shevardnadze devoted his life to Georgian culture. In 1907-1914 he studied at the Academy of Arts in Munich where he received a scholarship from the Chiatura Manganum Association. There he took up photography and when he had a hard time even worked as a retoucher at a photo - studio.

Under the leadership of this energetic young man a lot was done after his return to Georgia: the Association of Georgian Artists was founded; in 1916, for the first time in Georgia an exhibition of Georgian wall - painting was held; an expedition was organized to the Turkish Georgia, headed by E. Takaishvili; in 1920 the Georgian National Gallery was founded; in 1922 the Academy of Arts and the State Museum of Fine Arts were established. In 1929 D. Shevardnadze decorated the opera "Abesalom and Eteri" in the manner of Georgian frescoes, and the performances "Who is to Blame", "The Uprising in Guria" and the feature film "Eliso" for the Georgian Cinematography. He is the author of an original Georgian print, post - stamps and banknotes and university emblem.

In 1937 D. Shevardnadze was subject to repression. His closest friends, the painter Ketevan Magalashvili and D. Shevardnadze's cousin, Ketevan Chelidze managed to save his archive. About a handred negatives taken by D. Shevardnadze in Germany and Georgia have been survived.

G. Gersamia

D. Shevardnadze's photos are kept with Ketevan Kipshidze


Amateur Photographers

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