99. Ducal Palace (Venice) [1934]

With a sober and lyrical chromatic richness through its serious undertone, Petrașcu's art reveals to us his intimate universe, within which we will periodically encounter the cityscape, a genre that he will pay great attention to from the beginning. Among the places he will be deeply impressed by during his youthful wanderings – London, The Hague, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Brussels, Senlis, Zurich, Bern, Basel, Stockholm Toledo) – Venice will be among his most loved places. He will discover it in 1902, on one of his trips here, and since then he will enthusiastically continue to return on numerous occasions. He will be deeply impressed by the panoramic views of the Doge's Palace, Ca 'd'Oro Palace, Rialto Bridge, San Marco Cathedral or the stately Campanile, as well as by the art of the great masters - Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian or Velasques. Lonely and silent, the artist will travel through these places that inspire him, imbuing himself with their atmosphere, spending time near them to understand, incorporating them into his spirit, in order to recreate them as he feels them. With the elements that the city will provide him, Petrașcu will build a new, captivating, and realistic city, something more material and weighing heavier, with less transparent skies, darker palettes preserved in bloody walls - features that will design a Venice that will belong to him.

References

"The Catalogue of G. Petrașcu Exhibition", Dalles Foundation, Bucharest, 21 May – 1 July 1933. George Oprescu, "Gheorghe Petrașcu", Ed. Meridiane, Bucharest, 1963. The Catalog of "Commemorative Exhibition G. Petrașcu", Art Museum of the PRR, Bucharest, October – November 1957. Paula Constantinescu; Doina Schobel, "G. Petrașcu 1872-1972" Painting Exhibition, Art Museum of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Bucharest, 1972. Vasile Florea, "Gheorghe Petrașcu", Ed. Meridiane, Bucharest, 1989.

Dimensions

width 21 cm, height 27.5 cm

Description

ulei pe lemn, signed and dated lower left, with black, "G. Petrașcu, (1)934"

Research information

The artwork was part of Gheorghe Petrașcu's solo exhibition at Sala Dalles, Bucharest, from March 18 to April 14, 1936, and is mentioned in the exhibition catalog at no. 157, under the title "Bianchini Palace". The artwork was also part of the exhibition "Gheorghe Petrașcu, about the charm of reality" at Artsafari, Bucharest, in 2020.

Dating

1934

PROVENANCE

The historic collection of the Ionescu-Clopotaru family.

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