18. With clothes at the river [1912-1915]

The exuberant color scheme will be reserved only for some of Octav Băncilă's works. Especially in this period, when his 1907 cycle was long completed, his palette will acquire a remarkable coloration. The critical realism and the somber tones in works such as "The Sower", which suggested a functional servitude of the color, will be abandoned in favor of a palette closer to the feelings that were building up in the artist's soul at this stage. The exuberant nature will be represented in much brighter tones. We thus find a subject that is also repeated in other works - "The Washerwoman", made in the year 1915, a subject reserved for working people. Framed in the mountain landscape, the protagonist performs her task under the vigor and brightness imposed by the artist on the landscape. The subject probably unfolds in the Moldova region, a region specific to Băncilă's works. The chromaticism highlights the content of the work, and the white of the shirt balances the darker tones of the vegetation. Work scenes will be represented by the artist predominantly in nature, thus engaging in the thematic content dedicated to rural life.

References

COMAN, Anton, "Octav Băncilă", State Publishing House for Literature and Art, Bucharest, 1954.

Dimensions

width 79.5 cm, height 65.5 cm

Description

ulei pe pânză, signed bottom left, in ochre, "Octav Băncilă"

Dating

1912-1915

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