The Dimitri Shevardnadze National Gallery (usually just referred to as The
National Gallery) on Rustaveli Street in Tbilisi is currently displaying the
exhibition: ‘The Caucasus Front through Nino Jorjadze’s Camera Lens’ to mark
the centenary of World War I. Nino Jorjadze was a female war photographer.
Jorjadze was the first Georgian woman photographer to capture a series of
World War I scenes in the region at the Caucasus Front from 1914-1918. During
WWI Georgians served in the military of the Russian Empire. For the first time,
The National Gallery is exhibiting her photographs, letters, diaries, documents
and personal items. There are also photographs of Nino Jorjadze and her family
on display, most had to be restored by the Georgian National Museum’s photo-paper
conservation laboratory. The Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of
Georgia has also released a book-album of her work, entitled ‘World War I
through the Eyes of a Georgian Woman.’ The photographs are from battles at
Sarikamish, Kars, Begli-Akhet, Bitlis, Karakamis, Nazik, Anis, and Selim.
The exhibition is on display from June 17 to July 17, 2015, as part of the
global events for the 100th anniversary of World War I.
Nino Jorjadze (1884-1968), was born in Tbilisi to mother, Tamar
Bagration-Mukhraneli (1855-1940), and father, Zakhari Jorjadze (1847-1895). She
had two brothers, Alexander (1880-1939) and Giorgi (1882-1918). She studied French
in Paris before returning to attend a nursing course with the Sister of Charity
at the Mikhail Hospital in Tbilisi. In 1914 she volunteered with the International
Red Cross as WWI commenced, joining the second advanced detachment. She saw
military action with from the very beginning of the conflict. She was awarded
the St. George Medal for Bravery in 1915.
The photographs are from archival materials from the private collection of
Alexander Bagrationi. Much of the diaries were written in Russian (most were
destroyed), but some entries were in French. She took the photographs with her
brother Giorgi’s Kodak camera. The collection on display is extensive and
exceptionally interesting.
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