NIKO PIROSMANI

Hardly known outside of Georgia these days, his work was nevertheless displayed alongside works by Goncharova, M. Larionov, Malevic h, and Chagall in the legendary 1913 exhibition Mischén (Target) in Moscow, where he was known as the Rousseau of the East. Pirosm anis unique visual vocabulary is based on consistently reduced formal elements: against an always black background, the elementary colors of red, blue, yellow, green, and white developed refined effects, immediately appealing to the viewer.