Million scarlet roses, or Who was the woman, because of which the artist Niko Pirosmani was ruined. About the woman who inspired Pirosmani, in fact, very little is known. There are documentary evidence that she actually came to Georgia: in 1905, the newspapers published announcements of performances by the singer-chanson, dancers and actresses of the Parisian theater of miniatures “Belle Vue” Margarita de Sevres. There are posters in the city: “News! Theater “Belle Vu”. Only seven touring the beautiful Margarita De Sevres in Tiflis. A unique gift to sing chanson and at the same time dance cake walk! ”Niko Pirosmani first saw her on the poster and fell in love. It was then that he painted the famous painting “Actress Margarita”.
And after he heard her singing at a concert, he decided on that act, about which Konstantin Paustovsky and Andrei Voznesensky would later write. On his birthday, Pirosmani sold his tavern and all his property, and with the money he bought, he bought all the flowers in the city. He sent 9 wagons with flowers to the house of Margarita de Sevres. According to legend, she saw a sea of flowers, went to the artist and kissed him. However, historians claim that they never met. Niko sent her flowers, and he went out with friends. “A Million Scarlet Roses,” about which the famous song is sung, is also part of the legend. Flowers, of course, nobody considered, and in the wagons were not only roses: lilac, acacia, hawthorn, begonias, anemones, honeysuckle, lilies, poppies, peonies were unloaded by armfuls directly on the pavement. The actress sent him an invitation, which he did not immediately take advantage of, and when the artist finally came to her, Margarita was no longer in the city. According to rumors, she left with a rich fan and never been to Georgia.
In 1968, an exhibition of paintings by Niko Pirosmani took place in the Louvre. He was not alive for 50 years. They say that in front of the portrait of the actress Margarita for a long time was an elderly woman. Eyewitnesses claim that it was the same Margaret de Sevres.
Georgian primitive painter Niko Pirosmani (Niko Pirosmanashvili) was self-taught and a true self-made man of the people. Despite the fairly large popularity during his lifetime, he lived in poverty and often painted pictures for food, and world fame came to him only after his death.
