The photos of the lot are informative and indicative, and cannot provide a highly detailed view of the object from all angles. We recommend a careful physical inspection of the lot before bidding.
The photos of the lot are informative and indicative, and cannot provide a highly detailed view of the object from all angles. We recommend a careful physical inspection of the lot before bidding.
102. Portrait of the Writer Alice Voinescu [a doua jumătate a anilor '50]
Hailing from a noble family, the artist trained in the Russian avant-garde artistic scene and particularly established himself as a decorative painter in 1920s Bucharest. Born in Saint Petersburg as the first son of Baron Laurentiu Lovendal, he in turn inherited this title. He was equally a visual artist and a man of the theater – working as a set designer for the Theater in Cernauti and the National Opera in Bucharest. He passed his love for the theater to his daughters, the youngest of whom pursued the dramatic arts, becoming the actress Irina Dall. George Löwendal used to read from Chekhov's work to his daughters, unequivocally assuming the interpretation of the roles of the characters quoted. In 1931, he founded the Society of Plastic Artists of Bukovina, suggestively called "Friends of the Arts", and in 1937 he permanently settled in Bucharest. In 1947, King Michael I awarded him the Order of Cultural Merit in the rank of Officer. Löwendal was also a founding member of the Union of Plastic Artists and the Plastic Fund of Romania. The artist draws his themes predominantly from rural life, capturing faces of peasants, landscapes, and places of worship. The interregional exhibition will mark the moment when the artist will reveal to the public part of his portrait work. Among his works we identify portraits of personalities such as Maria Tanase, Tudor Musatescu, N.D. Cocea or Gala Galaction. This time, however, Löwendal focuses his attention on a representative female personality: Alice Voinescu. She established herself as a writer and translator as well as a theatre critic. She obtains her bachelor's degree under Titu Maiorescu at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy in Bucharest and then travels to France and Germany for doctoral studies. She will be the first woman in Romania to earn a doctorate in philosophy. Despite receiving employment proposals from major international academic institutions, she chooses to return to her country, where she will teach at the Conservatory of Dramatic Art. She will make several studies about the famous playwrights of her time: Wedekind, Pirandello, Bernard Shaw, or Jean Claudel, and will be passionate about ancient theater, Elizabethan theater, or French drama. Her international travels facilitated her meeting with personalities such as André Gide and Roger Martin du Gard. At home, Alice Voinescu used to attend the concerts of George Enescu, about whom she later wrote; or she attended the meetings at the house of Maruca Cantacuzino, where Enescu was also present. The current portrait becomes representative of Löwendal's stylistic specificity. The ethereal chromatic and the fine, elegant lines anticipate the attitude of the protagonist, revealed by the artist both through facial expression and gestures as well as clothing. The long sleeves, fur, and lace; the gold bracelet, the ring and brooch with precious stones, the elegant earrings or the tilted hat are vestiges of the muse's style. The grace and elegance that accompanied her throughout her life in speaking and thinking also overflow onto her style of dressing, but also onto the way others perceive her.
References
"George Lowendal, An Aristocrat in the Limelight", Cultural Institute Publishing House, Bucharest, 2011.
Dimensions
width 64 cm, height 90 cm
Description
ulei pe carton, signed lower left, in paste, "GL"
Dating
a doua jumătate a anilor '50
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.
Detalii
Hailing from a noble family, the artist trained in the Russian avant-garde artistic scene and particularly established himself as a decorative painter in 1920s Bucharest. Born in Saint Petersburg as the first son of Baron Laurentiu Lovendal, he in turn inherited this title. He was equally a visual artist and a man of the theater – working as a set designer for the Theater in Cernauti and the National Opera in Bucharest. He passed his love for the theater to his daughters, the youngest of whom pursued the dramatic arts, becoming the actress Irina Dall. George Löwendal used to read from Chekhov's work to his daughters, unequivocally assuming the interpretation of the roles of the characters quoted. In 1931, he founded the Society of Plastic Artists of Bukovina, suggestively called "Friends of the Arts", and in 1937 he permanently settled in Bucharest. In 1947, King Michael I awarded him the Order of Cultural Merit in the rank of Officer. Löwendal was also a founding member of the Union of Plastic Artists and the Plastic Fund of Romania. The artist draws his themes predominantly from rural life, capturing faces of peasants, landscapes, and places of worship. The interregional exhibition will mark the moment when the artist will reveal to the public part of his portrait work. Among his works we identify portraits of personalities such as Maria Tanase, Tudor Musatescu, N.D. Cocea or Gala Galaction. This time, however, Löwendal focuses his attention on a representative female personality: Alice Voinescu. She established herself as a writer and translator as well as a theatre critic. She obtains her bachelor's degree under Titu Maiorescu at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy in Bucharest and then travels to France and Germany for doctoral studies. She will be the first woman in Romania to earn a doctorate in philosophy. Despite receiving employment proposals from major international academic institutions, she chooses to return to her country, where she will teach at the Conservatory of Dramatic Art. She will make several studies about the famous playwrights of her time: Wedekind, Pirandello, Bernard Shaw, or Jean Claudel, and will be passionate about ancient theater, Elizabethan theater, or French drama. Her international travels facilitated her meeting with personalities such as André Gide and Roger Martin du Gard. At home, Alice Voinescu used to attend the concerts of George Enescu, about whom she later wrote; or she attended the meetings at the house of Maruca Cantacuzino, where Enescu was also present. The current portrait becomes representative of Löwendal's stylistic specificity. The ethereal chromatic and the fine, elegant lines anticipate the attitude of the protagonist, revealed by the artist both through facial expression and gestures as well as clothing. The long sleeves, fur, and lace; the gold bracelet, the ring and brooch with precious stones, the elegant earrings or the tilted hat are vestiges of the muse's style. The grace and elegance that accompanied her throughout her life in speaking and thinking also overflow onto her style of dressing, but also onto the way others perceive her.
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.
References
"George Lowendal, An Aristocrat in the Limelight", Cultural Institute Publishing House, Bucharest, 2011.
