118. Red Scarf [1931]

The portrait was a constant concern of Ion Theodorescu-Sion’s work, from the searching moments from the beginning of his studies, until the end of his activity, materializing either in the portraits of peasants from the Pianul de Jos native area – "Ion Pușcă", "Plăeșii", "Ioana Ursu", or of friends – Professor Vintilă Dem. Mugur, painter Lola Schmierer Roth, Lucretia Daria Silion, his sister-in-law, Maria Mihailescu, his first wife, or Elena Theodorescu-Sion, the second wife. The portraits from his first period of creation, between 1911 and 1920, evince the phases of single colour predominance: the blue phase between 1909 and 1911, the green phase between 1912 and 1914, the reddish-brown phase between 1919 and 1920. In the works created in this interval, one can recognize expressionist influences in the modulation of paste and deep contours, impressionist searches in the exaltation of pure colours and the contrast of complementary colours, as well as postimpressionist attempts, in the decomposition of colours, following the spectral light principle. The second period, between 1920 and 1930, is the release of influences and the articulation of a style of his own, with a monumental character, creating works defined by the unctuous consistency of the paste, the preciousness and the viscous density of matter. In the works of the year 1930, considered to be those in which his virtuosity fully manifests, his palette gained brightness, with white becoming the dominant value. In 1931, the third period of creation starts, named by Tonitza "notably coloristic", which is characterized by in-depth technical experiment and attempts to geometrize the form, against complete science of composition and construction. "The atmosphere and softness of matter, the musicality of the line and the message of colour are new concerns separate his last decade of activity, distinguishing it from the others." The firm contours that differentiate between the compact colour masses disappear, and the shades melt into each other, creating harmonies of different tonal values. At the same time, it retains the concern for colour symbolism, tracking their meaning and their sensory correspondences. The beginning of this period also includes the work "Red Scarf", made in 1931, a portrait of Maria Mihăilescu, the artist's first wife, who often was a model for portraits, ranging from graphics works to easel paintings, in oil, especially between 1920 and 1930. Theodorescu-Sion uses a harmonious composition and balance in the distribution of the colour, the painting being distinguished by the happy agreement between the light ochre of the skin, the dark chestnut of the hair, the red of the scarf, the lips and the necklace, and the ochre-green of the vibrating background. The shine of the hair is rendered in touches of light metal blue, and the cheeks in vivid shades of pink. The scarf occurs as a pretext of shape and colour for highlighting the features of the model, as well as the necklace, which emphasizes the ancient beauty of the neck. The hands, captured in a graceful feminine gesture, describe an expressive decorative line, and the braided cord is also ornamental, harmonized in texture and colour with the skirt’s turquoise. Its treatment, as well as the book, shows a constructivist influence, while the woman’s association with her contemplative gaze and the book is a motif of symbolic origin, with reference to poetry.

References

PAVEL, Amelia, "Theodorescu-Sion", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1967 SCHOBEL, Doina, CLONARU, Hariton, "Ion Theodorescu-Sion", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1971

Dimensions

width 36 cm, height 51.5 cm, custom 51,5 × 36 cm

Description

oil on cardboard, signed and dated bottom left, in black, "Teodorescu, 1931"

Research information

The work participated in the 11th Ion Theodorescu-Sion personal exhibition of February 1932, held at the Romanian Athenaeum and it is reproduced as such in the article dedicated by Henri Blazian in "Adevărul literar și artistic" ("Literary and Artistic Truth"), 7 February 1932, year X, No 583, page 3. The work is listed in the National Mobile Cultural Heritage, under the Fund category, based on Order No 2041 of the Ministry of Culture, of 29.01.2010.

Dating

1931

PROVENANCE

collection of Romanian diplomat Vasile Stoica, taken over in 1977 by the National Museum of Art of Romania, and after the fall of the communist regime, following a long series of trials, returned to the diplomat’s heirs of the diplomat, in the course of the year 2009.

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