131. Jar with Carnations

Ion Țuculescu remains one of the most enigmatic and fascinating figures of Romanian post-war art, due to his amateurish relationship with painting. This doctor and biologist discovered his calling for art late, at 25, in 1935. Only three years later his first exhibition took place at the Romanian Athenaeum. Thus, he trained as an artist outside of academic education, helping him avoid patterns of the time. Despite his remarkable talent, his notoriety during his lifetime was modest. Only after his untimely death, Țuculescu's art was recognized as one of the most revolutionary in Romanian Modernism, capable of combining expressive abstract with authentic Romanian values. Although drawing precise barriers between Țuculescu's artistic cycles is challenging, we can assume that this stylistic period is situated between early Expressionism (1942-1947) and the final Totemist Abstraction (1956-1962). Between 1947 and 1956, Țuculescu is in full folkloric period, a moment of synthesis between folk art and personal Expressionist vision. In these years he painted numerous still lifes with flowers - carnations, roses, wildflowers - closer to a classic and rigorous style. Among these, we mention numerous paintings titled 'Wildflowers' and 'Water Lilies'. The artist does not treat the still life, however, as simple decorative studies, but as pretexts for exploring a deeper spiritual reality, decisively marked by his personal imprint. The current work presents carnations in various shades of red, white, pink and cherry, placed in a brown-ocher ceramic vase on a neutral gray-cream background. Through value, shades, and chromatic contrasts created, Țuculescu masterfully handles perspective, volumes, and movement, creating a dynamic illusion through the variation of shapes and rhythms of the flowers. The petals fallen on the surface of the table are not decorative detail, but a meditation about the passing of time and the ephemerity of beauty. The leaves are treated synthetically, geometrically, with strong green and black highlights. (L.M.)

References

DAVIDESCU, Cătălin, "Țuculescu", Scrisul Românesc, Craiova, 1988 COMARNESCU, Petru, "Ion Țuculescu", Meridiane Publishing House Bucharest, 1967

Dimensions

width 47 cm, height 33.5 cm

Description

oil on cardboard, signed upper right, in black, "Țuculescu"

Research information

The work was part of the retrospective exhibition "Ion Țuculescu. The Amateur Genius", Art Safari, Bucharest, 20225 and is reproduced in the exhibition catalog.

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