19. Melancholy [1926]

With a scholarship from the Romanian state, Emilian Lăzărescu arrived in Paris in 1905 and began to attend the workshops of the artists Leon Bonnat and Luc-Oliver Merson. Imaginative and visionary by nature, Lăzărescu divides his creation between idyllic landscapes and works that have at their core mysterious feminine characters. To his female protagonists, the artist would attach various elements, such as the fan or the cigarette - suggesting modernity, strength and emancipation. Sometimes, his models are depicted with makeup or reclining on the couch; on other occasions, the femme fatale in Emilian Lăzărescu's creations directs her visceral gaze straight at the viewer. In this work, the artist opts for a dark background, meant to contrast with the translucent body of the female character. In general, the artist's name has been associated with ball scenes and elegant costumes, with characters absorbed in the gala atmosphere, belonging to aristocratic society or with couples dancing in rooms of impressive beauty. His works are dominated by portraits of flirtatious young women overflowing with energy or of muses exhausted of the energy of the ball. The model in question is wearing a voluminous ball gown with a long skirt, rich in folds at the bottom, illustrated by a dark colour palette, and a corset in light-shades at the top. The hair is styled in an elegant, Parisian fashion, and the head resting on the hand leaning against the back of the chair indicates the apathetic state the character is in. From the vibrating brushwork to the use of chiaroscuro effects, Lăzărescu aligns seamlessly with the artistic trends prevailing at the time.

References

BADEA-PĂUN, Gabriel, 'Pictori români în Franța' ('Romanian painters in France'), Noi Media Print Publishing House, Bucharest, 2012.

Dimensions

width 35 cm, height 52 cm, custom 52 × 35 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed and dated bottom left, in white, 'E. Lăzăresco, 1926'

Dating

1926

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