119. Still Life with Chrysanthemums and Apples

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119. Still Life with Chrysanthemums and Apples

Ion Theodorescu-Sion

1882, Ianca, Brăila - 1939, Bucureşti

Estimate:

EUR 4.000 - 6.000

Sold post auction

EUR 4.000

References

SCHOBEL, Doina, CLONARU, Hariton, "Ion Theodorescu-Sion", exhibition catalogue, The R.S.R. Museum of Art, Bucharest, 1971.

oil on cardboard, 44.5 x 53 cm, 44,5 Ã 53 cm, signed bottom left, in black, "Theo. Sion"

An outstanding representative of the interwar painting, Ion Theodorescu-Sion developed his preoccupation for the rigor of the drawing under the guidance of his teachers: George Demetrescu Mirea, Jean Paul Laurens, or Luc Olivier Merson. Especially in his early creation we encounter the influence of some artists whom Theodorescu-Sion had the opportunity to admire in his travels through the museums of the world. Thus, his painting is close that of a Corot, Courbet, or Renoir; but we can especially find similarities with the work of Derain or Cézanne. From the latter, the Romanian artist took the appetite for symbol and constructivism, easily identified and inferred throughout his work. Still lifes reveal Sion as the master of colour and construction. We therefore identify several chromatic periods, each with a certain dominant shade at its centre. However, we can distinguish, especially in his still lifes, a notably coloristic period, in which the deliberate geometry of forms is also noted. The picturality of the motif inspired Sion to constantly render the world of flowers on his canvases. Carnations, chrysanthemums, or roses are placed in colourful traditional jugs and pots, placed next to bowls or fruit plates. The artist observed the classical symmetry principles and he organized his compositions according to them, considering the centralization of the motif; but also notable are works in which he no longer takes such rigors into account and opts for asymmetries or composite schemes. He was particularly concerned with the study and representation of light (both sunlight, natural light and light from alternative sources), the accentuation of shadows, with taking up the entire working surface and the way in which it distributes and amplifies the line, shapes or volumes. Ion Theodorescu-Sion’s creation remains known for its decorative character, for the harmoniously distributed exuberant colouring, and for the adoption of the national vernacular, symbolism or geometry of forms. (D.C.)

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