Aleksandr Sharvashidze
Prince Aleksandr Konstantinovich Chachba-Sharvashidze was a Georgian-Abkhazian Chachba, graphic designer, painter, scenographer and art critic.
Following the death of his cousin,
Giorgi Mikhailovitch Sharvashidze in 1918, Sharvashidze succeed the Abkhazian throne in pretence. From 1920 onwards Sharvashidze lived in exile in Paris.
Early life and family
Aleksandr Konstantinovich Chachba-Sharvashidze was born on 1867 in Feodosia, to Nathalie de Enloy de la Garde and Prince Konstantine Giorgi Shervashidze. Through his father Sharvashidze was a member of the House of Sharvashidze, the former ruling family of the Principality of Abkhazia.Sharvashidze was the grandson of the Abkhazian ruler Sefer Ali-Bey Sharvashidze and great-grandson of Kelesh Ahmed-Bey Sharvashidze. Sharvashidze's father Constantine was part of the 1832 conspiracy of Georgian nobility against Russian rule.
St. Petersburg
From 1907 until 1918 Sharvashidze worked as a scenographer at the Saint Petersburg Mariinsky and Alexandrinsky theatres. He co-operated with Alexandre Benois, Aleksandr Golovin, Valentin Serov and Pablo Picasso.Exile in Paris
After the Russian Revolution, Sharvashidze went into exile in France. He died on 17 August 1968 at the age of 101 in the hostel for the elderly in Monaco, and was buried at the Russian cemetery in Nice.Legacy
Sharvashidze requested for all his work to be left to Georgia after his death. On 12 May 1985, Sharvashidze was ceremonially reburied in the centre of the Abkhazian capital Sukhumi. On 24 December 2013, a monument was unveiled on his grave.On 21 January 2024, the Central Exhibition Hall, in Sukhumi, which stored precious artworks from Abkhazia's National Art Gallery, burned down, resulting in the tragic loss of over four thousand artworks, including up to 300 pieces by Alexander Chachba-Shervashidze.