81. Child's Head (Little Dutch Girl)

The artist particularly focused on the subject of children in his work starting from 1924, when he began to focus more on creating a meditative exploration of childhood. The primary inspiration for his creativity will be his three children who he managed to evoke from childhood to maturity, serving as models in several works, examples include: "Child in Red," "Girl Inside" and "Little Girl with Ribbon in Hair." Among his little muses are Catrina and Irina, his daughters, and Nineta, his niece, often depicted reading, sitting or playing. Preschool age is mostly covered by female portraits. Tonitza attributes various decorative elements to the little muses: ribbons, bonnets, kerchiefs, or dresses, which he studies carefully and details meticulously in his works. Most of his portraits include only one face, as the artist wanted to focus more on a single human figure and allocates sufficient time to capture both the physiognomy and the entire psychology of the model represented, like the present work that focuses on capturing the face of a small Breton girl who is depicted in semi-profile and does not look at the viewer. The character wears a white bonnet on her head, along with a green outfit and a red bow tied to her chest. Thus, from the way the model is represented, we can deduce that this is one of the people close to the artist, due to the style and approach to creation. Tonitza paints faces devoid of expressiveness, with eyes overflowing with nostalgic innocence, or eyes that look with melancholy and candor. He presents the face as a microcosm on which he intervenes, when necessary, with specific details and special attention to details.

References

ȘORBAN, Raoul, "Tonitza", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1973.

Dimensions

width 32.5 cm, height 38 cm

Description

ulei pe carton, signed top right, in brown, "Tonitza"

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For clarifications regarding the bidding procedure, hammer price costs, guarantee, payment, and collection terms for the winning lot, we recommend carefully reading/re-reading the Bidding Regulations.

For additional information regarding the lot and the auction, please contact the Art Consultants Department.