86. Nude in Red Armchair [1933-1934]

Symbol of unshackling and assumption of freedom in art, the nude will stand out throughout history as a special genre in painting. In Antiquity and the Renaissance, representatives of artistic currents will shed the clothing of Eros, revealing to the viewers its human nature. Eros will then take the form of cherubs, which will later transform into angels and cherubs. Depicted with naked bodies, the heroes of ancient works will pave the way for artists and the public alike to become familiar with a new type of art. From the first modern Romanian painters, who returned home from studies abroad, and up to the present day, the nude has been integrated into painting and elevated to the rank of art. Unlike sculptors, who directed their attention to masculine volumes, painters will focus more on the idealization of feminine proportions. Nicolae Tonitza is among the painters who "dominated the first half of the 20th century and who made nude paintings an independent genre", as stated by Mircea Deac; along with Theodor Pallady, Gheorghe Petrașcu and Camil Ressu. In their works we will identify the figure of a loved one, a model or a renowned personality. Usually, the model is confused with characters from the biographies of the artists, so he will be allowed to step into both the studio and the painter's home. In the work environment of the aforementioned artists, the nude will benefit from numerous preparatory studies, drawings and grids. They will dedicate a long time to anatomical study and the image's transfer to oil will be made, consequently, at the end of a generous period allotted for research and experimentation. Positioned beyond truthful rendering and the ecstasy in front of the motif, Nicolae Tonitza will catch his muses in the harem, sitting on a chair, lying on a couch; depicted frontally, in profile or even from the back. The artist has the ability to express body expressivity regardless of the pose his model is in. As also noted by critic Mircea Deac in relation to Tonitza or Pallady, artists will usually avoid including the legs "with their charmless pads" in the compositional space. As a result, the present work becomes emblematic precisely by virtue of its portrayal of the naked body in its entirety, from the top of the head to the toes. The result of numerous studies carried out on the model will be transposed into a remarkable ability to penetrate the model's inner universe and to value feelings such as loneliness and sadness. We also observe, in this work, the specificity of portraying the face devoid of pupils; the black hair, cut short and the crossing of hands above the womb. The fullness of volumes becomes the leitmotif of the work and converges from the oval shape of the face towards the curves of the bust and up to the fullness of the thighs or calves. In his writings about art, Tonitza discusses the issue of the reception of the nude in native art, referring to the reticence and puritanism displayed by some viewers. "Anyone who is conquered by the voluptuousness of the flesh in front of a nude and not by the pleasure of painting - misses the point", the artist was going to note, so after mastering the precepts of Munich academicism and the teachings of the Fine Arts Academy in Iasi, he will master human anatomy and will incorporate this theme within his work. The present work, which entered the possession of artist and collector Vasile Parizescu on November 24, 1988, has a captivating story behind it. A contemporary of one of the artist's daughters - Catrina Tonitza, Vasile Parizescu will establish a friendship with her over time. He will call her on her birthday or holidays and, as a result of a suggestion received from a third party, he will learn about the existence of this work. The painting was kept in a travel chest that belonged to Nicolae Tonitza. For logistical reasons (more specifically, lack of space), Ecaterina Tonitza, the painter's wife, will ask Ștefan (Afane) Teodoreanu (also a painter, a former student of Tonitza and the son of writer Ionel Teodoreanu) to store it in his residence. Ştefan Teodoreanu will return this chest to Catrina Tonitza, their daughter, a few decades later. The chest retained a few paintings inside, stored there since the '35 -'40s. In the travel chest, the painter stored cartons or primed canvases, but also finished works. The largest of the works- "Nude on Red Armchair" - portrayed a teenage nude, most likely one of the painter's daughters. Given the circumstances in which this work has been preserved: locked for about 50 years in a chest, in the dark, the state of conservation in which it was found is quite understandable. What is curious, however, is the 'X' mark, drawn diagonally, from one end to the other of the work, with a brush dipped in black. Around the pelvis, the collector noticed, at the time of inspecting the board in Catrina Tonitza's house, thin cuts, like from a knife. From the artist's daughter, Parizescu will learn a brief history of those occurred on the work, namely the intervention of Ecaterina Tonitza with knife splinters and black lines on the surface of the board. Also from Catrina Tonitza, Vasile Parizescu will learn details about the divorce of her parents which took place in the years' 34 - '35, the process or agreement under which Tonitza left for Iasi, where he will be rector at the Academy of Fine-Arts. Leaning on the large, red armchair, the protagonist of the present work positions her hands one over the other, thus covering the abdomen area; while her legs, close up to the knees, slightly separate "from outside to inside, with the tips of her shoes touching", as the collector himself noted when recording the details of the first encounter with the work. Positioning the model in this way diminishes, in the collector's opinion, the sexuality that nude paintings often exude. Thus, Tonitza creates a much more subdued teenage nude, where the emphasis is less on sentiment and hidden meanings and more on organic development, on study and technical, plastic exercise. Vasile Parizescu notes the preparatory steps that the painter habitually ran through before creating the final form of the work, starting from the 'grid' drawing executed on drawing sheets or tracing paper and ending with its subsequent transcription, in oil, onto canvas or board. Being fascinated by the work itself, by the execution mode of the drawing and by the intense colour palette in which the artist has shaped his entire creating universe, the collector will decide that the painting needs to end up in his collection. He will agree with its owner, they will draw up and sign a contract and he will continue to visit the painter's daughter's house. He will often leave, accompanied by other works (oils or drawings) that will complete his collection of Tonitza and he will also come into the possession of the 'gridded' drawing preliminary to the present work. Apart from the usual significances accompanying the artist's creation, the mystery of the present work is further deepened by the little story that precedes its appearance on the exhibition stands starting with 1992.

References

DEAC, Mircea, "The Nude in Romanian Painting", Official Monitor, Bucharest, 2010. GEORGESCU, Radu Călin, "Brief Hermeneutics of the Nude in Romanian Painting", Bucharest, 2011. PARIZESCU, Vasile, "Life as a Passion. Collectors.", Official Monitor, Bucharest, 2012.

Dimensions

width 69.5 cm, height 100.5 cm

Description

oil on cardboard

Research information

The artwork participated in the first exhibition of the Art Collectors Society of Romania, from the "Collections and Collectors" series, May 12 - 25, 1992. The artwork participated in the exhibition "The Nude in private Art Collections", June 8 - 27, 1993. The artwork is reproduced in the album "The Nude in Romanian painting", by Mircea Deac, Official Monitor, Bucharest, 2010. The artwork is reproduced in the album "Life as a Passion. Collectors.", by Vasile Parizescu, Official Monitor, Bucharest, 2012. The artwork participated in the exhibition "Feminine representations in Romanian art", National Cotroceni Museum, February 17 - April 3, 2022, and it is reproduced in the exhibition catalog.

Lot.notes

On the verso, authentication by the artist's daughter, Catrina Tonitza: "The painting "Nude in red armchair" was painted by my father, the painter N.N. Tonitza, in the period 1933-34, representing my sister Irina. The painting remained in the family until October 1988, when we gave it to the collector Vasile Parizescu." October 1988, Catrina Tonitza.

Dating

1933-1934

PROVENANCE

Victoria and Vasile Parizescu collection.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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