Zurab Tsereteli created more than five thousand works of sculpture, painting, graphics. Perhaps there is no artist in Russia whose work would cause such controversial reviews.
According to his projects, sights were created in Moscow that caused a negative assessment of the public. Critics believe that the creative abilities of this master correspond to the level of an ordinary artist-designer. The transfer of the monument to Peter I has been debated for more than ten years. Nevertheless, the Zurab Tsereteli Museum is popular among Muscovites. There are many positive reviews about the works presented here.
Brief curriculum vitae
Zurab Tsereteli was born in 1934 in Tbilisi. He graduated from the Academy of Arts, then continued his studies in France. In the early 60s Tsereteli began active work in the field of monumental art. His sculptural works are presented at exhibitions in Brazil, Spain, Great Britain, USA, Japan, France and Georgia. In 2010, the artist was awarded the prestigious National Art Society of the USA award.
Zurab Tsereteli Museum in Moscow
The first exhibition was opened in November 2009. The Zurab Tsereteli Museum is located in a three-story building in the very center of the capital. The exposition opens the stages of the artist’s creative development to visitors. His works combine elements of ancient Georgian art with the traditions of the modern European school. On both sides of the entrance are sculptures depicting great painters - Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall. The artist was personally acquainted with these outstanding personalities. However, in the Museum of Zurab Tsereteli there are many monuments dedicated to celebrities.
Not every artist is ready to let spectators into his studio. As a rule, this territory is closed to visitors. But in the workshop of the artist, whose work is discussed in today's article, anyone can go. It is part of the Zurab Tsereteli Museum. The artist exposes new paintings primarily in Bolshaya Gruzinskaya. By the way, the place for the museum-workshop of Zurab Tsereteli was not chosen by chance. The house Tsereteli has lived in since 1993 is located on the street where representatives of the Georgian nobility once lived. The artist himself comes from an old princely family.
Zurab Tsereteli founded the Museum of Modern Art in 1999. Today, the exhibitions held in it play a significant role in the artistic life of Moscow. The museum is located on four sites. Branch - House-Museum of Zurab Tsereteli. As already mentioned, it occupies three floors. At each of them there is an exposition dedicated to one or another stage in the artist’s work.
Music and literature
Here you can see works dedicated to the origins of the work of Zurab Tsereteli. In the museum on Bolshaya Gruzinskaya, on the ground floor, a bronze portrait of Mstislav Rostropovich. The composition is built around this figure. Antique motifs are also present here - the outstanding musician is surrounded by muses. The main source of inspiration for the artist has always been art itself in all its manifestations. In the same room where the sculptural composition dedicated to Rostropovich is located, you can see the famous character Exupery - The Little Prince, cast in bronze.
"Tbilisi is my love"
To the left of the entrance to the museum is a collection of panels dedicated to the artist’s hometown. The series is called "Tbilisi - my love." In these works, the Georgian capital is represented as Tsereteli remembered during his childhood. The artist turned to the image of old Tbilisi and its inhabitants more than once over the years: both in sculpture, and in painting, and in graphics. On the ground floor of the Zurab Tsereteli Museum of Art you can see enamel paintings depicting Tbilisi.
Another collection demonstrates the master’s interests in Antiquity. Here you can see sculptural works depicting the Argonauts and heroes of the ancient Colchis kingdom, formed on the territory of modern Georgia in the fifth century BC.
"Tear of sorrow"
On the banks of the Hudson River, in memory of the tragic events of 2001, a monument designed by Tsereteli was erected 11 years ago. His model is present in the museum, among other works. "Tear of Sorrow" is a bronze stella, whose height is 32 meters. The monument resembles the outlines of one of the twin towers destroyed by terrorists. In the opening of the "tower" - a huge tear, symbolizing the boundless sorrow of those who lost their loved ones in New York on September 11th.
XX century painters
After viewing the work in the halls of the first floor, you should go up to the third. Here are sculptural portraits of prominent masters in the XX century: Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh, Chagall, Gauguin. A decisive stage in the work of Tsereteli is associated with the images of these artists - in Paris he reached a new level of skill.
Zurab Tsereteli first went to the French capital in 1964. This trip was a key event in his life. The young artist plunged into the amazing atmosphere of art, got acquainted with the works of Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall. Tsereteli was lucky to visit their workshops. He was impressed by the multifaceted talent of Picasso and Chagall. Any means of expression was subject to these artists: from small plastics to monumental painting. Then Tsereteli realized: the main condition for creativity is a feeling of freedom.
Theme of memory in the sculptures of Tsereteli
On the canvases of the artist repeatedly found a portrait of Charlie Chaplin. The plastic and extraordinary artistry of the great comedian more than once inspired Zurab Tsereteli. He embodied the image of Chaplin in painting, sculpture, and graphics.
Among the works presented on the third floor of the museum, the most personal, intimate character are portraits of his wife, who passed away several years ago. Inessa surrounded by candles is a symbol of eternal memory. The composition is distinguished by combinations of warm and cold colors, which creates a strong energy, catches the eye.
Another painting dedicated to the man who influenced the formation of Tsereteli as an artist is a portrait of Lado Gudiashvili, the largest Georgian master of the 20th century. This work is a tribute to the painter, who spent many years in Paris. Gudiashvili managed to combine in his work the characteristic features of modern European art and elements of Georgian culture, in which he became an example for Tsereteli.
Second floor
Picasso, apparently, had a strong influence on the work of Tsereteli. After viewing the sculptural works in the halls on the third floor, visitors descend to the second and there again they see a composition dedicated to the Spanish painter. Here the portrait of Picasso is embodied in tinted plaster. The sculptural portrait is painted in blue, red and black colors. Tsereteli gave expression to his work, thereby reflecting the essence of the character of the painter - Picasso was a restless and complex person.
"Picentaurus" is a work in which the Spanish artist is represented as a mythical creature - a centaur. The composition includes details that are different in content and tells about Picasso from different angles: as a person and as a creator. Of course, a special place in the work of Zurab Tsereteli takes a portrait. But many among his works and still lifes. Tsereteli himself claims that floral compositions for him are training, experiment, exercises that allow to solve a particular technical and coloristic problem.
