Irakli Moiseevich Toidze was a Soviet painter and graphic artist, People’s Artist of the Georgian SSR. The painter was born on March 14, 1902, in Tiflis (now Tbilisi) into the family of the artist and architect Moses Toidze.
Toidze received basic art lessons from his father, and then entered the Tbilisi Academy of Arts, from which he graduated in 1930. From 1922, Irakli worked at “Okna GruzKavROSTA”, where he mastered the poster genre. Toidze played a significant role in the formation of the Soviet theme in the Georgian everyday genre. He often created illustrations for book publications (“The History of Georgia”, “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin”, “The Anthology of Georgian Poetry”). But it was his poster that became a symbol of the Great Patriotic War and brought him world fame — “The Motherland Calls!” Toidze was repeatedly awarded for his great contribution to culture: he was a laureate of four Stalin Prizes and received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
The artist’s works include portraits of the outstanding pianist Alexander Goldenweiser, which were painted in 1942 and 1947. Goldenweiser’s diaries preserved memories of moving from Tbilisi to Tashkent in September 1942. One of his fellow travelers was the artist Irakli Toidze with his family. A few months before this difficult journey, in Tbilisi, Toidze had painted two portraits of the musician. In 1947, the artist began to paint another portrait of Goldenweiser, which he completed only in July 1955. In June 1959, this portrait was acquired by the State Central Glinka Museum of Musical Culture (now the Russian National Museum of Music).
In this portrait, Alexander Goldenweiser is depicted as close to life as possible — he is thoughtful, concentrated, and immersed in his thoughts. His facial features show the softness of his character, but at the same time they are an indication of incredible inner strength and firmness. His look and the lowered corners of his lips convey a feeling of quiet sadness and peace. Intelligence and some kind of philosophical wisdom are present in his whole appearance. Perfectly matched colors and shades make the image of Alexander Goldenweiser expressive, close, and understandable to the viewer. Now this wonderful work by Irakli Toidze is on display at the memorial apartment of Alexander Goldenweiser.
