Simonika Dadiani – Literary Aspects of the Painting of the “Georgian Modigliani”: (Cultural Environment of Georgian Emigration in the 1920s-30s)

Abstract

The paper examines the literary aspects of the émigré artist Simonika Dadiani, whose work remains largely unexplored in Georgian scholarship. It draws on the artist’s notes and letters, many of which are still inaccessible. Born in 1916 in Imereti, Dadiani was forced to emigrate to France due to Soviet persecution of his aristocratic family. Living in Paris, he engaged with modernism and developed a style reminiscent of Amedeo Modigliani, earning the title “Georgian Modigliani.” His legacy, including family archives and donated canvases, reflects a fusion of national and cultural identity.