Imereti-My Mother 1918

David Kakabadzé made this painting, Imereti-My Mother, on canvas and with what looks like oil paint. The landscape feels very deliberately pieced together, blocks of colour in a geometric formation. What was he thinking, to render the Imereti landscape in this way? And his mother, too, looks so stoic and grounded, her gaze fixed on something we can't see. She’s surrounded by these little, humble details—the lace on her skirt, the wildflowers in the grass. It's like Kakabadzé is revealing the beauty in the everyday. I keep thinking about how the colours are applied so flatly, without much blending. It's like he's saying, "This is it. This is what I see. And this is how I feel about it." The painting is very still and quiet, but full of tenderness.