Portrait of Ilya Zdanevich

Pirosmani may have forever remained in obscurity had it not been for the Zdanevich brothers, who came to Georgia looking for naïve, or untrained artists, based on the popularity of primitivist painter Henry Rousseau. One evening they arrived in a Tiflis tavern, which was adorned on the inside with Pirosmani’s works. Almost a year later, due to Pirosmani’s constantly moving nature, they were able to locate the painter, and Ilya Zdanevich approached him about an art exhibition. Ilya commissioned this painting from the artist, allowing him to return often and help grow public interest in the artist’s work, as well as collect his many paintings from the establishments around the town to create an exhibition of Pirosmani’s works.