Hen with her chicks 

Editor: Here we have "Hen with her chicks," a painting, probably in oil, by Niko Pirosmani. I find its slightly awkward composition strangely compelling, with the somewhat crude rendering of the figures and landscape elements, it almost has the feel of a folk tale. How would you interpret this piece? Curator: Pirosmani was indeed a self-taught artist, and his naiveté is key. He worked outside the established art world, and it's important to consider that as we look at this work. Can you tell me what sort of institutions he was not aligned with? Editor: Presumably, like official Academies, state-sponsored patronage and the art market generally. It seems a world apart from that... Curator: Exactly! Pirosmani lived a rather bohemian life, often painting signs for taverns and shops in exchange for food and lodging. This context profoundly shaped his artistic style. We see reflections of this everyday reality. Here is the yard, a slice of ordinary life from that period and in the late 19th and early 20th century Tiflis - now Tbilisi. The chickens and their young serve as characters within the space. Editor: That's fascinating! It’s like he elevated these everyday scenes to something almost iconic by rendering them in such a simple way. What's your favourite thing about Pirosmani's art? Curator: I appreciate the honesty in Pirosmani’s art; he seemed genuinely uninterested in adhering to academic norms. He created a distinct visual language that tells of the everyday realities he lived and witnessed, and he captures something about Georgian identity that’s particularly interesting to uncover in the present. Editor: It's wonderful to think about how one can appreciate "high art" for aesthetic quality while other works document or uncover identity.