15. Rest Stop [1916]

Francisc Șirato's artistic debut is deeply tied to graphic art. In the first decades of the last century, the artist collaborated with newspapers of the time and produced satirical drawings. Thus, he got to know Iosif Iser and Ary Murnu, whose conceptions about art and life he also shared. In 1916, against the backdrop of a conflict that had broken out two years earlier globally, the publications through which Francisc Șirato carried out his activity were bound to end their appearance. The artist will now become a supervisor of repair works at the Communal Stables, which will form the basis for his harsh and direct contact with the new reality - that of war - a reality that he will suggestively transpose into sketches and drawings. Șirato will dedicate an entire cycle to this motif, which he will title "Refuge of the villages". Under this theme's seal, the current work was born in the first year of Romania's participation in the war. A similar work, titled "Pause", but made in oil, is in the collection of the National Museum of Art of Romania. All the works created under this motive, where the artist describes the refuge of the villagers from Oltenia and Muntenia to the Moldova area, present convoys of carts, workers, caregivers, but also pause scenes loaded with unease, as we see in the current work. With their eyes cast down, filled with worries and despair, Șirato's characters take care of the cauldron propped on fire and warm their cold-marked bodies by the fire's warmth. In the distance, we distinguish a panorama of ox carts, paused for a moment of respite. The monumental silhouettes, frozen in the seal of time, are marked by large wash spots and cool, bluish-gray or yellow-ocher tones. The sober palette supports the contrast of the shapes, which seem to be arranged based on the luminosity of the space. A passive observer, the artist approaches from a dual social and psychological perspective, both the isolated character and larger groups of people. The year 1921, the year of Francisc Șirato's first personal exhibition, gathered on the easels a series of watercolors and oils that capture the turmoil of the desperate days of war. It is very likely, therefore, that the present work, completed in 1916, was part of the aforementioned exhibition.

References

DRĂGUȚ, Vasile, "Fr. Șirato", State Publishing House for Literature and Art, Bucharest, 1956. ISPIR, Mihai, "Șirato", Meridians Publishing House, Bucharest, 1979.

Dimensions

width 43 cm, height 31 cm

Description

watercolor on paper, signed and dated bottom right, in black, Șirato, (1)916

Dating

1916

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