Petre Otskheli's sketches not only speak of his broad imagination, technical virtuosity and deep thinking as an artist, but also refer in general to Georgian theater and cinema of the 1920s and 1930s, as well as universal modern avant-garde art.
Petre Otskheli (1907-1937). Costume design for “Flying Decorator.” 1936. Pencil, gouache, and watercolor on paper, 37x42. Director Leo Esakia. Film studio “Georgia Film.” Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History
The history of Georgian scenography began in 1922, when Kote Marjanishvili, at that time an already established director in Russia and Ukraine, returned to Georgia and began modernizing the Georgian theater. He discerned Georgian theatre’s fundamental strength in the talent of the actors alone, and believed that all the other elements were in need of updating. During the five years prior to Marjanishvili inviting 20-year-old Petre Otskheli to the theater, the Georgian school of scenography had already been formed as a strong establishment. Despite his age, Petre Otskheli managed to find his place among the professionals from the moment he entered the field, enriching not only the stage, but also Georgian theatrical art in general. Just two years after having produced sets and costumes for Karl Gutzkov's "Hurriel Acosta", it became clear that 22-year-old Petre Otskheli was a significant cultural figure.
Petre Otskheli (1907-1937). Costume design. 1932. Pencil, watercolor and Indian ink on paper. 32x40,3. Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History
Petre Otkheli (1907-1937). Costume design for "Othello" by William Shakespeare. 1933. Director Kote Marjanishvili. The Kutaisi 2nd Drama – Theatre (today Tbilisi Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre). Pencil and watercolor on paper. 46x40. The Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre Museum
Marjanishvili invited to the theater artists who demonstrated abstract, conditional, and modern forms of thinking, who could transform the stage space based on their latest endeavours. In general, modernist painting followed two main directions: one is conceived as the representation of linear geometric forms, and the other is associated with biomorphic form shapes. Petre Otskheli mainly followed the latter. After having delved into the concepts of several movements, he developed his own style, which was founded on the basics of Art Nouveau and Expressionism. He merged all new diretions into one, forming an original artistic handwriting replete with Art Deco movement.
Petre Otskheli (1907-1937). Design for a woman's costume. 1930. Watercolor and pencil on paper, 38.9x29.9. ATINATI Private Collection
Otskheli created conditional spatial decorations and sculptural costumes. Their ordonnance with the shapes of arches and half-arches, stairs, squares, and flexible flows of lines adorning the costumes enriched the actors with a certain level of plasticity and movement (Percy Shelley’s “Beatrice Cenci,” Henrik Ibsen's “The Master Builder “- 1931, William Shakespeare's “Othello”
Petre Otskheli (1907-1937). Costume design for ”The Whites'' by Demna Shengelaia. 1929. Pencil and watercolor on paper. 17x19. Director Kote Marjanishvili. The Kutaisi 2nd Drama – Theatre (today Tbilisi Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre). Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History
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Petre Otskheli (1907-1937). Costume design for “Beatrice Cenci” by Percy Bysshe Shelley. 1930. Director Kote Marjanishvili. The Kutaisi 2nd Drama – Theatre (today Tbilisi Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre). Pencil and watercolor on paper, 28x19. Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History
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Petre Otskheli (1907-1937). Costume design for “Hurriel Acosta“ by Karl Gutzkow. 1929. Pencil and watercolor on paper, 25,5 × 13,5. Director Kote Marjanishvili. The Kutaisi 2nd Drama - Theatre (today Tbilisi Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre). Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History
The actors garbed in Otskheli’s costumes were perceived as an organic part of the decoration, since they grew out of it and merged with it. This abstract environment, which was created by the artist, was of course never detached from its dramatic foundation. Each of the generalized forms of a performance or spectacle play, the scale, spatial solution, and distant hints provided information regarding the time and location of the action, and even alluded to the character of the protagonist in Otskheli's designs. Very often the costumes shaped the characters and defined their social status and personality traits. The costumes created by Otskheli became prototypes of all the details presented on the stage.
Petre Otskheli (1907-1937). Set design for "The Surami Castle” by Daniel Chonkadze / Simon Mtvaradze. 1933. Director Alexander Takaishvili. Tbilisi State Theatre of Youth. Watercolor and Indian ink on paper. 24.1x21.1. ATINATI Private Collection
Petre Otskheli (1907-1937). Set design for "The Surami Castle” by Daniel Chonkadze / Simon Mtvaradze. 1933. Director Alexander Takaishvili. Tbilisi State Theatre of Youth. Watercolor and Indian ink on paper. 29.1x24.4. ATINATI Private Collection
Beginning from 1927 until his tragic demise in 1937 when he fell victim to Soviet repression, Otskheli staged numerous plays in various theaters of Georgia and beyond its borders. This was the most difficult period in the history of the Georgian Avant-garde, which still managed to preserve modernist trends yet bore witness to a situation that became more and more tense, making it extremely difficult to remain true to one's own creative beliefs. Petre Otskheli responded to the challenge with a refusal to betray both the conditional nature of the theater and his own avant-garde vision. When all creative fields legitimized Socialist Realism (1932), he discovered his own special ways of exaggerating the forms. In this way he added a new artistic meaning to realistic images and managed to transform them (Iona Vakeli’s “Aprakune Chimchimeli” - 1934, Shalva Dadiani’s “The Broken Bridge” - 1935, etc.).
Petre Otskheli (1907-1937). Portrait of Tamar Balanchivadze. 1926. Pastel and cardboard on paper. 39x33. ATINATI Private Collection
Following the rethinking of numerous modernist movements and based on his classical foundation, Petre Otskheli naturally developed into one of the most sophisticated and advanced representatives of the Art Deco style of the "machine era". Authentic proof of this fact is today manifested in the universally conscious popularity of his sketches for the movie "The Flying Decorator" (director Leo Esakia, 1936).
