Costume Sketch for Opera 'Tristan and Isolde' by Aleksander Shervashidze

Alexander Shervashidze was a theater painter, book illustrator, art critic and public figure. He was a grandson of the last ruler of Abkhazia, George Shervashidze. He studied at the Kiev Real School and the Moscow Painting, Sculpture and Architecture Institute (1891-1895). In 1894 he went to Paris and continued learning at the workshops of F. Cormon and Julien. Shervashidze, with the “Russian Ballet Troupe,” went to England, Spain and France. The painter died in the Monaco Nursing Home. In 1985 the remains of Al. Shervashidze were taken for reburial in Sokhumi, Georgia.