Niko Pirosmani

As it begins.

"When Niko was six, a series of disasters struck the family. In 1868, his elder brother Georgiy died. In 1870, this was followed by the death of both parents, first the father, Aslan, and then the mother, Tekleh. The elder sister, Miriam, was married and lived in the Pirosmanshvilis' native Kakheti region. The younger sister, Peputsa, was taken in by relatives from back home. This left Niko, aged eight, with nowhere to go."

So it ends.

"Pirosmani's last days passed in obscurity. In the spring of 1918, he stumbled into the cellar of one of his old friends, the shoemaker Archil Maisuradze, and fell asleep on the stone floor. He was already very sick. Maisuradze discovered him there only several days later, by which time the painter was fevered and delirious. Pirosmani was immediately rushed off to the nearest hospital, but it was far too late. He died only a day later, on April 7. The artist had neither any property nor next of kin that would claim him, and even the site of his grave in Tiflis is unknown."

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