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Lot Essay
Remeniscent of many avant-garde books published by the 41O group in Tiflis, the present album is a hand-made anthology of verse and other futurist drawing produced under the guidance of Iliazd and his brother Kirill by a group of Georgian avant-garde poets with whom they regularly collaborated. Kancheli who contibutes a great deal to the present work was a leading light amongst the futurists in Tiflis. He financed many of their activities including theatrical and operatic performances and personally supported many of the younger artists who could not afford to publish or promote their own work. Whilst being a pivotal member of the most avant-garde of the Georgian futurists (with Iliazd he discovered Pirosmanshvili) he also represented a link with the establishment being a close friend the likes of Maiakovskii, Balmont and Panternet.
The album opens with a lyrical poem within by Kancheli on 21.IX.17 and dedicated to his second wife Helena Skengelaia who becme the muse of the Georgian futurists. Known for her great beauty and intelligence she inspired other poems by several other artists including the Zdanevich brothers.
Another motable contributor to the book is Nikolai Cherniavskii who arrived in Tiflis in 1917, befriended the Zdanevich brothers, and became a founder member both of the futurist brotherhood and the extremely influential 41SO group, the brainchild of Iliazd under whose name Zdanevich contrived to publish books in Paris. Most celebrated of these are his superb collaborations with Pablo Picasso (see lot ?).
We are grateful to Henri Douard and other senior members of the Iliazd club for their help in researching and cataloguing this rare album.
The album opens with a lyrical poem within by Kancheli on 21.IX.17 and dedicated to his second wife Helena Skengelaia who becme the muse of the Georgian futurists. Known for her great beauty and intelligence she inspired other poems by several other artists including the Zdanevich brothers.
Another motable contributor to the book is Nikolai Cherniavskii who arrived in Tiflis in 1917, befriended the Zdanevich brothers, and became a founder member both of the futurist brotherhood and the extremely influential 41SO group, the brainchild of Iliazd under whose name Zdanevich contrived to publish books in Paris. Most celebrated of these are his superb collaborations with Pablo Picasso (see lot ?).
We are grateful to Henri Douard and other senior members of the Iliazd club for their help in researching and cataloguing this rare album.