Sergo Kobuladze introduced the spirit of ancient and renaissance cultures as well as the drawing methodology, elements of style and the epic pathos of these eras into the art of the 20^th century. Through exploring the theoretical foundations of the laws of painting, numerous variations, the application of alternative problem-solving possibilities, monumental effects, shape-modeling techniques, three-dimensional impressions of “sculptural” drawings, types of characters and thematic repertoire, the artist followed in the footsteps of the Old Masters, and created remarkable works in the fields of graphic work, illustration, theatre painting, as well as decorative and monumental art.

At the end of his life, Sergo Kobuladze accumulated the results of his long-term theoretical research in a study called “Golden Ratio.” During his career, the artist created significant works of art: the curtain of the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater, illustrations for Shota Rustaveli’s “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin,” William Shakespeare’s works, and Georgian fairy tales; portraits of Dante, Savonarola, and Shota Rustaveli; compositions, landscapes, and figurative motifs; sketches of decorations and costumes, among many others.

Sergo Kobuladze was the initiator of rational thinking and purposeful action, rector of the Academy of Arts, instructor, head of a graphic studio, and founder of a photographic laboratory. In 1956, his work “Dante” was exhibited at the Venice Biennale. His hand-painted curtain of the Opera and Ballet Theater, which burned down in 1976, was the largest and most iconic example of 20^thcentury Georgian monumental painting.

Baia Tsikoridze