3. Soul [1970]

Octav Grigorescu's penchant for humanist art was deepened not only through his studies in painting, graphics and sculpture, but also by his study of art history, philosophy, literature and music. With a rich general culture, Octav Grigorescu confidently embarked on his art journey, mainly between painting and graphics. From a young age, he showed a visible interest in drawing and color. In his mature creation, he approached a much more abstract manner, dedicating numerous canvases to long-calculated disharmonies. In the present work, we can reflect on the specificity of the artist. He provides the viewer with a conglomerate of bodies whose boundaries disappear. An osmosis of silhouettes and figures who rethink their identity course appears set in an uncertain topos. Octav Grigorescu's execution technique is to deepen the perspective through juxtapositions and discontinuity and simultaneity games. The overlapping of planes and the interpenetration of subjects until the effect is created of dematerialization of the motif appears as a mark of his personal style. Also, the artist skillfully uses drawing as a metamorphosis of the shape and concentrates the entire psychology of his characters in the graphic duct. In the present work, the color appears completely diluted, thus allowing the sure line of the drawing to shine through. Referring directly to the Latin etymology of the word, the artist notes "Anima" on the side of the piece in cursive. Reminding of Aristotle's treatise on the problem of the soul, invoking philosophical, religious or mythic traditions, Octav Grigorescu offers the present work a distinct key of interpretation in which he challenges the viewer to discover new, deeper meanings. In the terminology proposed by Carl Jung, we find the pair anima-animus, each representing the male or female counterpart in the representative of the opposite sex. Based on these premises, the chain of silhouettes does not seem at all random, but it grows gradually in intensity as the viewer untangles the semantics of the bodies.

References

- VLASIU, Ioana, "Reflections on the real and on the plastic language in Octav Grigorescu's drawing", in "Studies and Research of Art History", volume 23, 1976. - NOVICOV TERDIC, Ramona, "Works by Octav Grigorescu in the collection of the Bihor county museum complex", in "Crisia", no. XVII, 1987, Cris Country Museum Publishing House, pp. 701-707.

Dimensions

width 30 cm, height 40 cm

Description

tempera and ink on paper, Signed, dated and located bottom right, in black, "O. Grigorescu, 1970, Venice"; titled and signed on the right side, in black, "Anima, Octav Grigorescu".

Research information

The artwork participated in the "Octav Grigorescu" exhibition, Constanța Art Museum, April 7-25, 2021.

Dating

1970

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.