David Kakabadze Georgian artist, theorist and art historian, inventor Date of Birth: 20.08.1889 Country: Georgia

1. Biography of David Kakabadze
2. Founding of the "Intimate Workshop of Painters and Draftsmen"
3. Early Career and Expertise in Georgian Art
4. Paris Years and Avant-Garde Experiments
5. Return to Georgia and Later Career

Biography of David Kakabadze

David Kakabadze (1889–1952) was a Georgian artist, theoretician, and art historian, as well as an inventor. He was born on August 8, 1889, in the village of Kukhi near Kutaisi, Georgia, into a peasant family. Kakabadze began his education at the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of St. Petersburg University in 1909. From 1910 to 1915, he studied at the art workshop of L.E. Dmitriyev-Kavkazsky.

Founding of the "Intimate Workshop of Painters and Draftsmen"

In 1914, along with P.N. Filonov, Kakabadze founded the group "Intimate Workshop of Painters and Draftsmen", which released the manifesto "Made Paintings". This manifesto declared the principles of avant-garde "analytical art", which became known primarily through Filonov's work.

Early Career and Expertise in Georgian Art

Early in his career, Kakabadze showcased his knowledge of Georgian art history by preparing the first scientific essay on the medieval metalworker Beka Opizari in 1914. During his "Imeretian period" from 1911 to 1919, Kakabadze focused on epic motifs of the Caucasus nature, which he expressed in a symbolically generalized style of the Art Nouveau movement.

Paris Years and Avant-Garde Experiments

From 1919 to 1927, Kakabadze lived in Paris, where he studied the history and culture of Byzantium under the guidance of J. Mille. He combined Art Nouveau in his landscapes of Paris and Brittany with avant-garde experiments that became a unique variation of the post-futurist transition to abstract-kinetic art. In his polemics with cubists, Kakabadze argued that only curved and dynamic lines were capable of embodying the modern "spirit of mechanization". He introduced mirrors, lenses, and shiny metals into his collages, aiming for the effect of internal light emitted by the artwork itself. In 1923, he became one of the inventors of stereocinema by constructing and patenting a film camera that provided the illusion of relief.

Return to Georgia and Later Career

Upon his return to Georgia in 1927, Kakabadze combined the national-romantic themes of his "Imeretian period" with the canons of socialist realism. He worked extensively as an educator at the Tbilisi Academy of Arts from 1928 to 1948 and also contributed as an artist to theater and cinema. In 1934, he directed the documentary film "Art Monuments of Georgia". Kakabadze passed away on May 10, 1952, in Tbilisi.