72. Fears

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72. Fears

Corneliu Baba

1906, Craiova - 1997, Bucureşti

Estimate:

EUR 15.000 - 25.000

Not sold

References

"Corneliu Baba", edited by Maria Muscalu Albani, Romanian Cultural Foundation, Bucharest, 1997 "Corneliu Baba", Publishing House of the Romanian Cultural Institute, 2008

oil on canvas, 53.5 x 45.5 cm, 53,5 Ã 45,5 cm, signed bottom right, with brown, "Baba"

One of the most recognizable cycles imposing themselves in the collective imaginary of the last 40 years was conceived by Corneliu Baba following one of the most traumatising events that shook Romania. During the first months following the March 1977 earthquake, the artist starts sketching the deeply human universe which was bound to haunt him until the end of his career and his life. Spreading across almost 15 years, the "Fears" cycle unfolded and revealed itself as a cumulation of psychological introspections, easily outpacing its primordial, plastic nature. Included in the category of the deeply expressionistic compositions, together with “Regii nebuni” ("The Mad Kings"), Baba's Fears introduce us to a personal universe, coordinated both by the artist's psyche, as well as by his respect towards Goya's creation. After all, Baba actually never hesitated to name one of his "Fears" studies “Omagiu lui Francisco Goya” ("Tribute to Francisco Goya"), as a proof of the rather strong influence which the Spanish Maestro had over him. Under the expressionist umbrella, Baba managed to create a multitude of faces which can almost be identified, but always fraught with the burden of destructive feelings. The only recognizable face appearing every once in a while on the canvases completing the cycle is the portrait of the artist himself, meant to reconfirm the feeling of fear felt by the creator. However, just like for the current work, we often seem to get a glimpse of his wife's face and figure (the character in close-up), the closest person to Baba's heart. Furthermore, not only is the face of the lifetime partner present in this work, but Baba dedicates his work to his wife - the artist's signature contains his wife's initial, "T" from Țuca (Constanța). In a monumental achievement, the multitude of characters (around 12) offer us a profound description of the human imaginary typical for Corneliu Baba, an imaginary which was permanently broken by the March 1977 events. After all, compared to some works which keep commemorating the earthquake for years on end, such as the "Fears" of the 1980s and early 1990s, here the painter still felt the trauma very deeply, the work being dated 1977.

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