146. Metamorphosis [1961]

Țuculescu's creation is vigorous and significant precisely because it is always supported by the strength of traditions and unusual spiritual turmoil. Fascinated by the great Romanian values and traditional creation, Țuculescu remains unique in art history due to the plastic language he mostly uses in the landscape of Romanian painting. Like landscapes, another important period for the artist is the totemic end of his creation, also called the "signs and symbols" period, which is characterized by the way Țuculescu's painting transcends and manages to propose a new system of symbols, transforming the image into the pure expression of the creative self. Thus, the pillars of death, as he calls them, in his works have a totemic, symbolic role and remind us of the ancestors of the homeland, suggesting not only the idea of death and the continuity of life, they acquire a reversible time sense, similar to the crosses, where a few examples in this regard are: "Peacock Feather", "Metamorphosis" or "Solar Totem". The space of the images becomes increasingly rich in symbols and meanings, in the sense of traditions and folklore superstitions, and the artist expresses his own fears, doubts or hopes through them. Regarding the present work, it is part of the final period of his creation, a work that focuses on observing a column, where within it are represented a series of oversized eyes that seem to carefully watch everything around them. The totems function as a totalizing metaphor, as a symbol of the world of images and the creative gesture. They outline an abstract space, devoid of perspective, geometrized in its structure, by their repetition and the radicalization of color. Over time, the artist will come to detach from reality, abundantly using the decorative element, in agglomerations of shapes and chromatics increasingly observing the totem symbol. The chromatic palette chosen by Țuculescu is warm, pleasant and diverse, in shades of green and orange, with accents of yellow, black and blue. In the lower part of the composition as well as on its side predominates the dark blue that seems to create a chromatic balance within it. Also, in the center of the composition within the totem it is made in light green shades alternating with pleasant shades of orange, yellow and black, visible in the area of the oversized eyes of the totem. In the upper part dominate accents of blue, orange and yellow where all these create a pleasant atmosphere, and each element perfectly integrates due to the hue that the artist chose to carry out within them.

References

COMARNESCU Petru "Ion Țuculescu", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1967. DAVIDESCU, Cătălin, "Țuculescu", Romanian Script Publishing House, Craiova, 1988.

Dimensions

width 79.5 cm, height 100 cm

Description

ulei pe pânză, signed lower right, in blue, monogrammed, "TUC

Research information

The artwork featured in the retrospective exhibition "Ion Țuculescu", Dalles Hall, Bucharest, March 1965. The artwork is reproduced in "Țuculescu. A hypothesis of mythology", Paul Anghel in "Ramuri", no. 2, 1965, page 7. The artwork featured in the retrospective exhibition Ion Țuculescu, Mircea Deac, State Committee for Culture and Art, Bucharest, 1967 at cat. no 56. The artwork featured in the exhibition "I. Țuculescu - works from the Maria Țuculescu collection", Argeș Regional Museum, Culture and Art Committee of the city of Pitești, 1967, at cat. no. 106. The artwork featured in the retrospective exhibition "Ion Țuculescu. 1910-1962", National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest, March-May 1999, and is mentioned in the exhibition catalog under cat. no. 293, under the title "Metamorphosis". The artwork was part of the exhibition "Ion Țuculescu. The amateur genius", Art Safari, Bucharest, 2025, and is reproduced in the exhibition catalog.

Dating

1961

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