154. Melancholy (Adina Iamandi) [1936]

In the 1960s, the artist accepts numerous orders from artistic personalities and famous figures of the period. He becomes one of the official painters of Hollywood celebrities, so he will paint individuals such as: Salomé Murat, Dali, actresses Luise Rainer, Merle Oberon, Katharine Hepburn or Nancy Reagan. He moves through the high circles of society and forms friendships with personalities such as Dali, Picasso, Brâncuși, Derain, and Dufy. In the initial phase of his creation, in Bucharest, Dimitrie Berea practices his portraitist qualities and researches at length the psychology of the human being. In 1936, he would go on to produce the impressive work dedicated to Adina Arsenescu (Iamandi). The imposing clothes and elegant hairstyle give us precious details about the social status of the protagonist. She was the daughter of the politician Victor Iamandi, who was very active in the interwar period. From the position of Liberal Party MP, he would go on to become Secretary of State, Minister of Culture and Arts and Minister of Justice. Trained in law and literature, he will become the royal adviser to Carol II in 1939. The establishment of a new political regime will, however, lead to its removal. Aneta Iamandi, his wife, was an art enthusiast and often found herself in the midst of the frenzy of the local art world, forming friendships with the painter Octav Băncilă, the sculptor Boris Caragea or the writer Camil Petrescu. No wonder, then, that the couple's daughter would follow the path of letters, becoming a writer and translator. Adina Arsenescu was also involved in reviewing foreign titles that came into her possession and, in the middle of the last century, she wrote literary reviews for foreign authors such as Rosamond Lehman, Sinclair Lewis or John Dos Passos.

References

The catalogue of the exhibition 'Berea', January 24 – February 14, 1943, Kretzulescu Galleries, Bucharest. Victoria Dragu Dimitriu, 'Povești ale doamnelor din București' ('Stories of the ladies of Bucharest'), Vremea XXI Publishing House, Bucharest, 2008.

Dimensions

width 63 cm, height 90 cm, custom 90 × 63 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed and dated bottom left, in brown, 'Dim. Berea, (19)36'

Research information

The work is reproduced in 'Adevărul Literar și Artistic' (Literary and Artistic Truth), 1936, under the title 'Portrait of Miss Iamandi'.

Dating

1936

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