Levan Tsutskiridze

Levan Tsutskiridze (; 12 January 1926 – 17 November 2021) was a Georgian monumentalist artist, illustrator, and painter of frescoes in the Sioni Cathedral, Tbilisi.

Tsutskiridze illustrated The Knight in the Tiger’s Skin, a poem published in Berlin in German translation. It was also published in Tbilisi, Moscow, Yerevan, and Japan. He was also the author of the design and illustrations of more than thirty books.

Early life

Levan Tsutskiridze was born in the small town of Khashuri in what was then the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. Most of his childhood was spent in a small village, Moliti, in the Imereti region. When Tsutskiridze was 11, his father was killed in 1937 by the Soviet Government during the Great Purge. After his death, the family faced eviction from their home and poverty.

Tsutskiridze received primary education at a Tbilisi public school. In 1946, he started taking classes on painting and graphic arts at Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. During his time at the academy, the staff labeled Tsutskiridze as having a formalist style and punished him for allegedly being obstinate and disobedient. They demoted him first from second year to first year and then again from fourth year to first year. As a result, Tsutskiridze did not graduate the academy until 1957.

In 1997, "Data Tutashkhia" by Chabua Amirejibi, with illustrations by Tsutskiridze, was published. Tsutskiridze also illustrated the seven volume edition of Chabua Amirejibi works published by Magticom in 2001.

Exhibitions

1958 republic exhibition. Tbilisi. Georgia. 1959 personal exhibition. The Union of Architects of Georgia. Tbilisi. Georgia 1961 personal exhibition. House of Art Workers. Tbilisi. Georgia 1968 personal exhibition. House of the Society for International Cultural Relations, Berlin, Germany 1972 exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the USSR. Moscow, Georgia 1973 personal exhibition. Publishing House of “Merani”, Tbilisi, Georgia 1974 group exhibition of Georgian artists (Levan Tsutskiridze, Zurab Nizharadze, Dinara Nodia, Irakli Ochiauri), Belgium 1975 group exhibition of Georgian artists (Levan Tsutskiridze, Zurab Nizharadze, Dinara Nodia, Irakli Ochiauri), Austria 1976 group exhibition of Georgian artists (Levan Tsutskiridze, Zurab Nizharadze, Dinara Nodia, Irakli Ochiauri), Federal Republic of Germany 1977 personal exhibition. National State of Museum of Art, Tbilisi, Georgia 1977 personal exhibition. House of Scientists, Moscow, Russia 1977 personal exhibition. House of Literature Workers, Moscow, Russia 1979 personal exhibition. State Picture Gallery, Batumi Georgia 1981 exhibition dedicated to the days of Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Weimar, Germany 1982 personal exhibition. Illustrations, G. Leonidze State Museum of Literature, Tbilisi, Georgia 1982 personal exhibition. House of the Soviet Culture, Belgrade, Yugoslavia 2004 personal exhibition. G. Leonidze State Museum of Literature, Tbilisi, Georgia 2007 personal exhibition. National Library of the Parliament of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia 2014 personal exhibition. G. Leonidze State Museum of Literature, Tbilisi, Georgia 2020 personal exhibition. Georgian Museum of Fine Arts, Tbilisi, Georgia

Awards

In 1974, in Brazil, he won the Hans Christian Andersen Award for the design and illustration of poem “Toast’’ by Grigol Orbeliani, issued by the international Board on Books for young people. During the Soviet Union period, he was granted the highest “first A” category. Magazine Soviet Life was being published in USA starting from the 70s. In 1983, the December release published Amiran Chkartishvil's article about Levan Tsutskiridze, entitled ‘’A stark, muted palette’’. In 2001, he was granted the title of Georgian State Prize Winner. In 2002, he was invited to Italy as prize winner of Bogliasco International Foundation for his works of the past years. Five of the artist's works participated in festival "Iberia", which was held in 2010 in Netherlands.