Georgian Woman with Tambourine 1906

Niko Pirosmani painted this Georgian Woman with Tambourine with oil on oilcloth, but it’s the directness of his vision that really strikes me. He wasn't concerned with hiding the process of making art. Look at the way the paint sits right on the surface – how the deep blues meet the solid blacks of her dress. The red sash is like two bright exclamation marks. There is a sense of texture here. Pirosmani applied thin layers of paint, allowing the black oilcloth to play an active role in the final image, creating a rough surface that gives the painting a tactile quality. Then there is her lace headpiece, so different from the rest of the painting in its airy lightness, almost like a memory or a dream. Pirosmani, like Henri Rousseau, had a unique ability to combine simplicity with a deep, resonant emotional power. It's this tension, this unresolved quality, that keeps us coming back.