Culture
The uniqueness and originality of Georgian art with its ancient history and traditions account for the great interest of European travelers in Georgian culture. A great many among them are the French travelers of XIX-XX cc.
We would like the readers to focus their attention on the unknown materials recently found in different libraries and archives of Paris, which turned out to be unexpectedly large and versatile. We decided to research all the French authors, travelling in Georgia as well as in Armenia, Turkey, Iran… generally in the direction of East. This way many new names were found. According to our research, in XIX and early XX cc. 35 French travelers visited Georgia:
Fr. Bayern, Ch. Belanger, A. Berge, Mme. B. Chantre, E. Chantre, M. Cesar Famin, E. Cotteau, J. Dieulafoy, Fr. Drouet, E. Gallois, Fr. Gamba, Hommaire de Hell (Xavier), A. Jacobs, J. Klaproth, C. Lefevre-Pontalis, E. Levier, E.A. Martel, J. de Morgan, Fr. Nansen, E. Orsolle, M.E. Pottier, Ch. de Saint-Julien, J.Ch. Teule, M. de Villeneuve and two works of unknown authors ,,Essays on the Caucasus and Georgia” and ,,Essays on the Caucasus and Crimea”.
The works of these travelers belong to the genre of the so-called travel literature. The material obtained proves the great interest of Europeans of XIX-XX cc. in Georgian culture. This fact, in its part, enhances the scale of importance of Georgian culture. The travelers display the aesthetic value of Georgian monuments and the power of their effect in a new light. Besides the material is interesting as a historical document: the information obtained allows to fancy the routes of the travelers and the monuments, being in focus of their attention; it gives an important historiographical data, by means of which the so far lost monuments can be found. Their description will allow us to imagine the state of this or that monument in that period and find out the causes of destruction of some of them and even the dates in some cases.
G. Chubinashvili Institute of Georgian History and Art
of Georgian Academy of Sciences