Roxana Scripcaru
Head of the Romanian Postmodern & Contemporary Art Evaluation Office
163. Butterflies
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163. Butterflies
1923, Bucureşti - 2012, Castelnuovo Magra, Italia
Not sold
Selling price
EUR 2.593
ulei pe pânză, 130 x 100 cm, signed bottom right, in black, "Vincențiu Grigorescu"
The artistic language of Vincențiu Grigorescu is centered on the principle of proliferation and annihilation: in many of his chromatic works one can observe a series of overlaid materials, where color has been used in such a way that it infiltrates the underlying layers to the deepest level, eventually transforming into a series of slightly perceptible and fragmented signs. Desiring to free himself from the directives imposed by the communist party, he moves further and further away from the figurative, in favor of the abstract and geometric expression.
Upon his emigration to Italy in 1972, he begins his assiduous quest for personal expressiveness, beyond the bidimensionality of the canvas. He focuses his attention on the various ways in which he could highlight the material of the painting: from the support on which he creates the painting, to the paste and colors used. His creation becomes dependent on the material he works with and the surface on which he lays the color.
During that period he also creates the butterfly series, which enjoys real success. With "The Butterflies" he approaches a theme with a figurative hint, sketching the butterflies like mythical beings, that fill the pictorial space, dominate it. The contrasting colors form an almost symbiotic play between the background and the figurative elements. The suggestion of the light in which the figurative beings bask is paradoxically found in the rich chromatics of black, which gives life to these butterfly-dragons. The force and construction of these remind me of the mythical character of the watercolor "The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun", created by British artist William Blake. Like Blake's dragon, Vincențiu Grigorescu's butterflies create a nocturnal, gloomy, even apocalyptic atmosphere.
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Roxana Scripcaru
Head of the Romanian Postmodern & Contemporary Art Evaluation Office
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