LADO GUDIASHVILI

(1896-1980)

   Lado Gudiashvili was born on 18 March 1896 in Tbilisi, in the family of David Gudiashvili and Elizabeth Itonishvili. From an early age, he was drawn towards painting and drawing, and in 1914 he graduated from the Art School in Tbilisi with a Diploma with distinction. He then worked on several magazines as an illustrator. From1916 he took part in the expeditions organized by the ‘Georgian Artists’ and the ‘Historic-Ethnographic Society’ for the purpose of studying the architecture and wall paintings of Medieval Georgia. During these expeditions Lado Gudiashvili copied the frescos of Nabakhtevi and David-Gareji churches which were exhibited in 1917 together with the copies made by other artists in the ‘Temple of Glory’ (now the Dimitri Shevardnadze National Gallery of the Georgian National Museum). The study of monumental wall painting and the process of rationalization of this experience were to be valuable assets for of Lado Gudiashvili’s future activities and can be observed in his many creations.