99. Venice [1934]

With a chromatic richness that is sober and lyrical through its solemn underlayer, Petrașcu’s creation reveals an intimate universe, where we regularly encounter the cityscape as a genre. Among the places which will deeply impress him in the pilgrimages of his youth - London, The Hague, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Brussels, Senlis, Zürich, Bern, Basel, Stokholm, Toledo - Venice is one of the places he mostly cherishes. He will discover it in 1902, towards the end of his student years, and he will return there with great enthusiasm starting from the 1920s, until the first half on the 1940s. Solitary and silent, Petrașcu would cross these inspirational places, absorbing their climate and spirit, which he would afterwards render in virtuous canvases. He will remain deeply impressed by the panoramic landscapes of the Doge's Palace, the Ca 'd' Oro Palace, St. Mark's Cathedral, the lofty Campanile Bell Tower, as well as by the art of the great masters Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian or Velázquez. Solitary and silent, Petrașcu would cross these inspirational places, absorbing their climate and spirit, which he would afterwards render in virtuous canvases. Using the motifs inspired by the fortress, he would build a new, material and heavyweight city, with less transparent skies and darker palettes, kept between blood-coloured walls - traits of a Venice he seems to own. (G.M.)

References

Catalogue of the "G. Petrașcu Exhibition", Dalles Foundation, Bucharest, May 21 – July 1, 1933. Catalogue of the "G. Petrașcu Commemorative Exhibition", The R.P.R. Museum of Art, Bucharest, October – November 1957. Oprescu George, "Gheorghe Petrașcu", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1963. Constantinescu Paula; Doina Schobel, "G. Petrașcu 1872-1972" Painting Exhibition, Art Museum of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Bucharest, 1972. Florea Vasile, "Gheorghe Petrașcu", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1989.

Dimensions

width 26 cm, height 35.5 cm, custom 35,5 × 26 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed, dated and located bottom right, with red, "G. Petrașcu, Veneția, (1)934"

Dating

1934

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