52. Maternity [1927-1929]

The third decade of the past century and his temporary residence in Vălenii de Munte significantly contributed to Nicolae Tonitza's closeness to his family. We can identify the genesis of the series of works dedicated to maternity at this point in time. Living everyday life in a household that saw five-six children come by could not go unnoticed as part of the artist's sources of inspiration. So, we find maternity depicted in various ways, and the representation of women and children became a predominant subject in Nicolae Tonitza's creation. From mothers comforting their newborns to the deep love conveyed by the tight embraces between mothers and children, maternity has often been interpreted as a symbol in art. The earliest cartographers of the topic date back centuries, and the first recorded representations include the Virgin Mary with a child in the catacombs of Priscilla in Rome. We find the subject revisited by renowned artists worldwide such as Michelangelo, Renoir, Dorothea Lange, Paul Cézanne, Gustav Klimt, Mary Cassatt, and many others. But from "Madonna with Child" to Luchian's "The Lute Player", the subject has evolved and taken various forms and meanings. Nicolae Tonitza reviewed the theme of the current work in three separate works, later included in reputable collections of the period. The retrospective exhibition organized at the Bucharest Art Museum in January-March 1964 brought this work to the public, along with a much smaller version included in the museum's collection. The work is, therefore, reproduced in the catalogue dedicated to the exhibition, along with the other version, allowing us to observe the differences in perspective, framing, execution, and color proposed by the artist. It depicts the same pair, mother and child, through a detailed plan, somewhat overshadowed by the silhouette of a third character. The subject is thus represented by the mother holding her child in her arms. The closeness of the two faces is highlighted in a gesture of tenderness, and the tight grasp of the child's hand in a deep caring mode. Maternal affection and the innocence of childhood resonate throughout the work, and the contrasts that form it highlight the importance of the subject in both the economy of the artist's creation and universal iconography.

References

ȘORBAN, Raoul, "Nicolae Tonitza", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1965.

Dimensions

width 50 cm, height 60 cm

Description

ulei pe carton

Research information

The artwork participated in the exhibition "N.N. Tonitza", Georgeta Peleanu, Bucharest Art Museum, January-March 1964 and is reproduced in the exhibition catalog at cat.186 under the name "Mother with child". A variant of the work was presented within the same exhibition at cat.180. A third variant of the work was part of the G. Zinveliu collection. The work was reproduced in the publication "Narodnaia Rumania", No. 6, 1965.

Lot.notes

On the reverse, authentication: "Authentic Tonitză "Mother with child" dim. 62 x 50. Hrandt A. 24/X/1954."

Dating

1927-1929

PROVENANCE

The collection of Prof. Costin Murgescu, corresponding member of the Academy, and the filmmaker Ecaterina Oproiu.

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