Merab Merabishvili
Merab Merabishvili | |
|---|---|
მერაბ მერაბიშვილი | |
| Born | 6 July 1931 Tbilisi, Transcaucasian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | 11 January 2022 (aged 90) Tbilisi, Georgia |
| Occupation | Sculptor |
| Years active | 1955–2022 |
Merab Konstantines dze Merabishvili (Georgian: მერაბ მერაბიშვილი; 6 July 1931 – 11 January 2022) was a Georgian sculptor known for his monumental public works. He was named a People's Illustrator of the Georgian SSR[a] in 1980, and was a full member of both the USSR Academy of Arts and the Georgian National Academy of Sciences.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Merabishvili was born on 6 July 1931 in Tbilisi, the son of the sculptor Konstantine Merabishvili.[3] In 1955 he graduated in sculpture from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, where he had studied under his father.[2][3]
Career
[edit]Merabishvili taught at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts from 1961, becoming a professor in 1978 and later head of its drawing department.[2][3] He was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Arts in 1988 and an academician of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences in 1996.[1][3]
Working in a realist, monumental idiom, he created many public monuments. Among them are the monument to Alexander Griboyedov in Tbilisi (1961), the equestrian monument to King Erekle II in Telavi (1971), a monument to Georgi Dimitrov in Moscow (1972, with his father), equestrian monuments to General Pyotr Bagration in Tbilisi (1984) and Moscow (1999), and a monument to Shota Rustaveli later installed in Budapest.[2][3]
Awards and honours
[edit]- People's Artist of the Georgian SSR (visual arts; სახალხო მხატვარი), 1980
- Honorary Citizen of Tbilisi (2002)
- Order of Honour (2001)
- Gold Medal of the Russian Academy of Arts
Death
[edit]Merabishvili died in Tbilisi on 11 January 2022, aged 90, and was buried beside his father.[1][3]
Footnotes
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "In Memory of the Georgian Sculptor Merab Merabishvili". Russian Academy of Arts. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Merabishvili Merab". Ministry of Culture of Georgia. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 მერაბ მერაბიშვილი [Merab Merabishvili]. Georgian Biographical Dictionary (in Georgian). National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. Retrieved 7 June 2026.