72. Butterflies [1973]

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Head of the Romanian Postmodern & Contemporary Art Evaluation Office

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72. Butterflies [1973]

Vincenţiu Grigorescu

1923, Bucureşti - 2012, Castelnuovo Magra, Italia

Estimate:

EUR 1.200 - 1.800

Sold

EUR 1.200

oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm, signed and dated top right, with pencil in paste, "Vincențiu Grigorescu, (19)73"

The artistic language of Vincențiu Grigorescu is centered on the principle of proliferation and annihilation: in many of his chromatic works one can observe a series of superimposed materials, where color was used in such a way as to infiltrate the underlying layers to the deepest level, eventually transforming into a series of easily perceptible and fragmented signs. His desire to free himself from the directives imposed by the Communist Party led him away from the figurative, favoring the abstract and geometric expressions. With his emigration to Italy in 1972, he began his assiduous search for his own expressivitiy, beyond the bi-dimensionality of the canvas. His attention turned towards the various ways he could highlight the materiality of the painting: from the foundation on which he created the piece, to the texture and colors used. His creation becomes dependent on the material he is working with and the surface on which he lays the color. During that period, he also produced a series of butterflies, which enjoyed real success. With "Butterflies", he explores a theme with a figurative touch, sketching butterflies akin to mythical creatures, which dominate the pictorial space. The contrasting colors create an almost symbiotic play between the background and the figurative elements. The suggestion of light in which the figurative beings bathe is paradoxically found in the rich chromatics of black, which gives life to these butterfly-dragons. Their power and construction remind me of the mythical character of the watercolor "The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun", produced by British artist William Blake. Like Blake's dragon, Vincenţiu Grigorescu's butterflies create a nocturnal, somber, and even apocalyptic atmosphere.

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