76. Elvira (Artist's Wife) [1930]

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76. Elvira (Artist's Wife) [1930]

Nicolae Enea

1897, Lucăceşti, Bacău - 1960, Bacău

Estimate:

EUR 2.000 - 3.500

Sold

EUR 3.250

References

The catalog of the retrospective exhibition "Nicu Enea", Bacau County Museum of History and Art, 1978.

oil on canvas, 44.5 x 91.5 cm, signed and dated lower left, in brown, "N. Enea, 1930"

In Nicolae Enea's work, the 1930s are dedicated to the in-depth study of the anatomy of bodies and the specifics of the human face. We will now encounter numerous portraits, nudes, and views from the artist's travels. However, the cycle dedicated to his wife, Elvira, usually captured with her body uncovered, lying on the sofa or sitting on an armchair, will be impressive. The open chromatic palette and the inserts of light in the skin texture of the model will be in strong contrast with the intense shades of the sheets and the grays of the wall towards which the protagonist directs her gaze. The artist thus creates a painting with a profound documentary character, marked by the objectivity of the viewer who passively watches what is happening in front of him. The stylistic expressiveness will draw its sap from realism and classicism, Nicolae Enea directing his attention also towards idealization, decorativism and expressionism. His wife, Elvira Paloșanu, the main muse and inexhaustible source of inspiration and pictorial motifs, will meet him at an exhibition organized in Bacău. Both young people were fresh graduates of Fine Arts in Bucharest, so they will be connected, in addition to deep feelings, by a significant artistic connection. They will marry in 1926 and over time, Elvira will be the only model of her husband. In 1935, Nicolae Enea participated in the International Painting Exhibition in Paris with a portrait dedicated to Elvira, a portrait that will be rewarded with a silver medal. Constantly taking care of her husband's work, Elvira will donate the building where she lived with him in Bacău, the associated land and an impressive number of paintings and graphic works to the County Council, thus laying the foundations of the memorial house dedicated to the artist.

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