133. Portrait of Petru Tonitza

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133. Portrait of Petru Tonitza

Ştefan Dimitrescu

1886, Huşi - 1933, Iaşi

Estimate:

EUR 7.000 - 12.000

Sold

EUR 7.750

References

PARADAIS, Claudiu, "Ștefan Dimitrescu", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1978.

oil on cardboard, 44 x 34.5 cm, 44 Ã 34,5 cm, signed and noted upper right, barely legible, "Recunosc lucrarea ca fiind a soțului pictorul Șt. Dimitrescu" ("I recognize the artwork as the work of my husband, painter Șt. Dimitrescu").

In 1906, as he was still a student at the Iași School of Fine Arts, Ștefan Dimitrescu addresses, alongside his colleague Nicolae Tonitza, a request towards the school management. By means of this request, he requires free train trips - both students believe that the beauty of autochthonous landscapes must be closely admired in order to be better transposed on canvas. This was going to be the beginning of a close friendship with painter Tonitza, alongside whom he would initiate various artistic groupings, of which we mention "Arta Română" ("Romanian Art") and "Grupul celor patru" ("The Group of Four"). Tonitza had nothing but praise towards Dimitrescu. He appreciated his determination to find his own path in the endless artistic environment and described him as being so preoccupied with the subjects he illustrated, that he ended up melding with them, just like "the chosen ones" of the artistic world. The two of them would work at painting churches, alongside other artists; they would organise their first exhibitions together, accomplishing, more or less intentionally, an exchange of technical and visual influences. They would support each other when applying for various art teaching positions within the School of Fine Arts, and they would collaborate constantly and consistently towards exploring and harnessing Romania's artistic potential. The connections he forms throughout his life persuade Dimitrescu to execute several portraits of his acquaintances. The artist would capture his closest friends on his oil canvases, such as the Tonitza family, or, as for the present work, their son - Petru Tonitza. The analytical spirit helps Dimitrescu skilfully capture both the physical and the innermost features of his models. The characters he sketches seem to be standing still in the shadow of time, they are assigned neutral expressions, as if they do not dare to astonish the observer. Dimitrescu's portraits are void of any unessential schemes, as they simply keep the substantial. The portrait also allows him to impose himself as a drawer. The sketched characters harmoniously meld with the artist's chromatic decisions, seeking to render the subject as authentically as possible, instead of provoking exaltation for the observer.

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