155. Nomads and Jews [anii '20]

Unlike his predecessor – the master from Câmpina – Băncilă does not idealize rural life but paints it on canvas respecting its authenticity, with all its ups and downs. With a multitude of works centered around the human being, the artist continuously asserts himself in Romanian art. Rural subjects are exemplified by suggestive titles such as "At the Ploughing", "At the Sowing" or "At the Weeding". Slaves of the land they toil, Băncilă's protagonists appear with rough hands and sunburnt faces, representatives of the social category from which they originate. Octav Băncilă will adopt the precepts of naturalism, but will continue to make use of realism teachings. He captures in his canvases aspects of rural life, of the lifestyle of ethnic minorities and transcribes, with the skill of a chronicler, the moment of the 1907 uprising. His work does not take on a militant character, but remains a faithful overview of veridical events. The artist is not interested in the aesthetic functionality of the painting, but rather in the faithful depiction of reality. He uses a sober color palette dominated by shades of brick, ocher or brown. The harshness of the paste is softened by some bright white brushstrokes, but Băncilă relies on the choice of the chromatic palette in enhancing the psychology of the represented characters. Thus, he constructs interpretive portraits, whose decorative function is nullified by the deep essence the artist imprints on the work.

References

SĂTEANU, C., "The Painter Octav Băncilă", in "Art and Archeology", year III, booklet 4, 1930, pp. 11-24. COMAN, Anton, "Octav Băncilă", State Publishing House for Literature and Art, Bucharest, 1954.

Dimensions

width 76 cm, height 69 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed lower right, in ochre, "Octav Băncilă"

Dating

anii '20

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