114. Odalisque [ca. 1933]

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114. Odalisque [ca. 1933]

Francisc Şirato

1877, Craiova - 1953, Bucureşti

Estimate:

EUR 15.000 - 25.000

Sold

EUR 20.000

References

DRĂGUȚ, Vasile, "Francisc Șirato", E.S.P.L.A., Bucharest, 1956 ISPIR, Mihai, "Francisc Șirato", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1979 OPREA, Petre, "Pictorul Francisc Șirato și colecționarii săi" ("The painter Francisc Șirato and his collectors") in "Unele aspecte ale comerțului de artă bucureștean în secolul XX" ("Some aspects of the Bucharest art trade in the 20th century"), Maiko Publishing House, Bucharest, 2005

oil on cardboard, 60.5 x 50 cm, 60,5 Ã 50 cm, signed upper left, in brown, "Șirato"

Research information

The work participated in "Exposition d'art roumain moderne a l'occasion de la XXVIIeme Conference de l'union interparlamentaire", Mozart Hall, Bucharest, October 1931, and it is reproduced as such in "Plastica anului 1931" ("Visuals of the year 1931"), Henri Blazian, AdevÄrul Publishing House, Bucharest, 1931-1932, on page 89.

Painted in the early years of the third decade, this work introduces us to a theme specific to this period, in which Francis Şirato integrates two individualized constructions - the interior with a character, respectively the theme of oriental origin. Even if it does not mark the picturesque appearance, as Iser (who devoted himself to this theme) did, Şirato does not fail to pinpoint the image, using the main aesthetic characteristics. The subject thus appears a few years after he used either the composition with characters - the beginning of the 20s - or the picturesque charm of the oriental typology - Mangalia, then Balchik, are considered by the artist only after 1925. The oil painting, which is presented to us by the great art critic Henri Blazian in "Visuals of the year 1931", gives us the opportunity to analyse a composition that marks the changes occurring in Şirato's painting at the turn of the 3rd and 4th decades. The brush stroke is the main source of novelty, being extensively marked by the new discoveries in terms of colour and light. Painted in concentrated, cold tones, the canvas impresses due to the structuring of the brush depending on the approached surface, forming expressive chromatic waves that mark the main compositional volumes. In a way, the work heralded the cycle approached between 1933 and 1934, with works modelled around the same type – a female character, caught in an unidentifiable interior, in relaxed postures. Although in this work the model is much better defined, due to its obvious picturesque appearance, Şirato did not particularly seek to mark the Oriental resonance, but rather he focused on the original source of colour. This is emphasized precisely by the quality of the palette – a sensory chromatic game – but also by the specificity of the brush strokes, also connected to the atmosphere.

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