65. Houses in Silistra [1930-1932]

Petrașcu's landscapes will always stir the most interesting opinions about the painting by nature of an artist who preached, for the most part of his career, an art of the inorganic. After a short period of Grigorescu’s influence, Petrașcu went on almost immediately to the modelling of that typical plastic complex, mastered by the chromatic supersaturation and, in particular, the predisposition for dark tones. The images of Romanian villages and towns appeared in the pictorial universe of Gheorghe Petrașcu as early as the beginning of his career, profoundly influenced by the apprenticeship around Grigorescu, but his first French stay (but also the Egyptian one) would expand his vision. From the first paintings made in the country around Bucharest, Agapia or the Nicoreşti estate, Petraşcu gained ownership of his landscapes from one painting to the next, easily distinguishing himself in the Romanian Post-Impressionist painting. Later, during the interwar period, Petrașcu's work was no longer critically interpreted. The master of Târgovişte was one of the most important artists alive and his style that intrigued in 1910 was now sought after and applauded by reviewers, critics and collectors. Faithful to the places discovered in the first two decades of the 20th century, Petraşcu returned to his favourite cities, painting their citadels, their corners, their walls and dusty houses. Silistra appeared in Petrașcu's imagination in 1913, the year when the painter went to the south of the country and painted in the cities on the banks of the Danube all the way to Dobruja. Silistra, Turtucaia, Mangalia, Techirghiol or Balchik were all visited and depicted at that time, starting a relationship with the views discovered here that would last for more than two decades.

References

COSTESCU, Eleonora, "Gheorghe Petrașcu", Editura Meridiane, București, 1975
FLOREA, Vasile, "Petrașcu", Editura Meridiane, București, 1989

Dimensions

width 39.5 cm, height 30 cm, custom 39,5x30

Description

oil on cardboard, signed lower left, in black, "G. Petrașcu"

Research information

Opere realizate de Gheorghe Petrașcu în anii 1930-1932 la Silistra intrau în marea expoziție personală din cursul anului 1933, în catalogul expoziției fiind prezente 4 opere din orășelul dunărean (cat. 119, 121, 137 și 196).

Dating

1930-1932

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