51. Janus on Water

The vision of the artist Ștefan Câlția about the world arises from multiple cultural ramifications that intermingle and give birth to these specific works that mark the observer with atmosphere and affective tonality. On the one hand, we have the archaic world of Romanian popular fairy tales, of fantastic characters; we have traces of ancient traditional shows, with masks and processions. On the other hand, the viewer notes the impact left by the lifestyle values of the Transylvanian village where the artist was born and raised, and the influenced carried from the years of study under Julius Podlipny. In the current work, the characters have decisive roles: a primordial couple, the first inhabitants of the earth, the male character having angel wings, suggesting the divine origin of man. The characters concentrate the main meanings of the image, like the role of the characters in a fable, enhancing the meaning of the narrative thread. In the work "Ianus on water", two types of characters stand out: on the one hand, human characters, with their hieratic figures like earthly angels, and the animal-fish character. The fish motif is not only one of the most recurrent in the master's creation, but also one of the first symbols of humanity, used in the most diverse combinations. "In Ștefan Câlția's compositions, the symbolism of the fish draws closer to interpretations given to this motif by some modern artists, especially from the realm of German expressionism: Max Beckmann, Paul Klee, Marc Chagall. In their works, the image of the carnival, of the puppet game was paramount, and the fish takes on magic-mystic meanings, a meeting point between life and death" (Amelia Pavel). In this work, there also appears a protective symbol, a prop element: a glass bell protecting the two characters. In the protective atmosphere of the glass, the characters seem to feel safe. From his master Corneliu Baba, the artist inherited the talent of conveying his characters in a silent expressiveness, void of thoughts.

References

PAVEL, Amelia, "Ștefan Câlția", Ed. Meridiane, Bucharest, 1989

Dimensions

width 120 cm, height 120 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left, in red, in monogram, "Câlția, 2001"

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