27. After Work [1919]

Approaching themes and subjects with a deeply humanistic load, Rudolf Schweitzer-Cumpăna is inscribed in the history of Romanian visual arts as a true painter of the village and the native peasant. His rural childhood spent in Cumpăna will translate into a diligent study of the lives of Argeș peasants. The artist transcribes faces, habits, gestures, and customs in a series of frescoes dedicated to rural life. His favorite themes include motherhood, work and household duties, transcribed in landscapes, portraits, or genre scenes. He does not idealize the image of the peasant, but presents the ordinary, simple man, with his soul troubles and daily worries. The dramatic chromatic expressiveness of the artist is accentuated by his realistic vision. The solemnity of the gestures and the earthy nuances succeed in works such as "Peasants at the table", "Rural lunch" or even in the case of this artwork. The artist possesses a special sensitivity and a remarkable understanding of human psychology, therefore he gathers around a table a few characters. We get a direct perspective on the face of the violinist, we can look at two other characters in profile while the fourth character was sketched from behind. Rendered in traditional clothes, with costumes and belts, the three peasants are seated on chairs, around the table, while the musician, the only character captured frontally, is illustrated while playing the violin. His bow touches the strings of the musical instrument, while the bottle of wine, strategically placed on the left side of the table, reveals the concerns of the characters during their break times. Keeping the tradition of his favorite thematic cycle, the artist invites us once again to penetrate the secrets of the traditional world.

References

BARBOSA, Octavian, "Dictionary of Contemporary Romanian Artists", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1976. IONESCU, Radu, "Rudolf Schweitzwer-Cumpăna", Rudolf Schweitzer-Cumpăna Foundation, Bucharest, 2003.

Dimensions

width 52.5 cm, height 68 cm

Description

ulei pe pânză lipită pe carton, signed and dated bottom right, with brown, "RUDOLF SCHWEITZER, 1919"

Dating

1919

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