91. On the Bucegi Mountains

The subject of this painting, a character in a landscape, is obviously one from the universe of impressionist painting. In this regard, although the shepherd has a well-marked place in the composition (due to the verticality of the silhouette, the touches of brown in his attire, in contrast with the ambiance), the first protagonist of the image is, for sure, the summer sunlight, captured in coloured whites, in shades of light grey, pale pinks, immersing the whole in muted tonalities. In the background, lost in a steam of whites, one can divine the mountains. The artist does not supply the year of execution, but the work can be dated, due to its specificity, in the white period, and it was probably painted towards 1896-1906. Because of its subject and manner of painting, it is part of the series of variations on the same theme of the young shepherd in a landscape, which Grigorescu introduces in our painting (becoming a national subject par excellence), which he fosters and explores in numerous hypostases, mostly in vertical canvas formats ("Ciobănaș pe Valea Prahovei" ("Shepherd on Prahova Valley", "Coborând cu turma" ("Coming down with the herd") , see G. Oprescu [-R. Niculescu], 1962, vol. II, p. 230-231 etc. ). This version is noted due to its generous size, through the horizontality of the composition, which grants a privileged place to the hilly landscape, which has a discreet rhythm created by the animal elements, as well as by the asymmetry in the placement of the character axis. The building blocks of the composition, the thematic and visual vocabulary used by the artists are the ones that he acquired in his years of training from Barbizon and Marlotte (1863-1869) and then from his numerous meetings with impressionist painting, which came forth at the end of the same decade (even though before 1874 it was not named the new movement as yet). The preferential presence of the rural universe in Grigorescu’s work, which is obviously an element that suited him, from the Barbizon school of realism, as well as the modern, compendious, gestural construction of shapes, with a few strokes of the tip of the brush and the cult of light de plein air represents his option for the renewing vision of the impressionists, the colleagues from his generation, who were also trained at Ecole des Beaux-Arts. We could say that the painting of whites is, towards 1890-1900, Grigorescu’s personal reply to the "de plein air" light, set forth by the impressionism. We may assume that the model who posed for Grigorescu for this painting is Maria Danciu in disguise. She was the artist’s favourite model since the 1880s, the one who was his companion during this part of his life. The fragile silhouette, the delicate features of the face (although merely suggested) which we encounter in many of the young shepherd figures painted by Grigorescu, cause us to assume this, also relying on the account of doctor Istrati, a close friend of the artist. Entitled "Pe Bucegi", in 1910, the work was included in the collection of Queen Elisabeth of Romania, as we can learn from the precious catalogue included in the monography published by A. Vlahuță. Queen Elisabeth’s appreciation of Grigorescu’s work was noted by Gabriel Badea-Păun in his book dedicated to the poet-queen Carmen Sylva, but a study on the royal family’s collection of Grigorescu’s paintings (started around 1870) has not yet been performed. In his monographic essay published in 1930, critic N. Petrașcu comments this work, whose title he takes over from Vlahuță, but he does not make a mention of the owner in the list of works. Reproduced in the 2nd volume of the monography by G. Oprescu [-R. Niculescu], 1962, the painting, this time entitled "Ciobănaș în munții Bucegi" ("Shepherd in the Bucegi Mountains") was catalogued as belonging to the Museum of Art of the Popular Republic of Romania (without indicating the inventory number). In all likelihood, it was not included in this heritage and the respective information on the owner of this painting was, in our opinion, a formula adopted at the time, either to avoid the reference to the royal collection, or because the location of the painting was not known, after King Michael’s abdication on 30 December 1947. The same situation can be seen in the case of other works by Grigorescu, reproduced in the Vlahuță monography as belonging to the royal collection, catalogued in the 1962 volume as existing in the Museum of Art of the Popular Republic of Romania. (I.B.)

References

Gabriel Badea-Păun, „Carmen Sylva, uimitoarea regină Elisabeta a României”, Ed. Humanitas, București, 2008. G. Oprescu [-R.Niculescu], „N.Grigorescu”, vol.II, ed.Meridiane, București, 1962, il.232 , cat. 232/p.283. N. Petrașcu, „N.Grigorescu”, Tipografia „Bucovina” I.E.Torouțiu, București, 1930, p. 39-40, 199, cat.77. A. Vlahuță, „Pictorul N.I.Grigorescu.Viața și opera lui”, ediția Casei Școalelor, Socec, București, 1910, il. p.137, cat.137.

Dimensions

width 116 cm, height 70 cm, custom 70 × 116 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed bottom right, with red, "Grigorescu"

Research information

The work participated in the "General Romanian Exhibition" of 1906, within which his creation is presented in retrospect, in a selection organized under his direct supervision. Most likely, the work was purchased by H.M. Queen Elisabeth as part of the exhibition. The work is reproduced in the monography "Viața și opera pictorului N. I. Grigorescu" ("The Life and Work of Painter N.I. Grigorescu"), Alexandru Vlahuță, SOCEC, Bucharest, 1910, on page 137, with the title "Pe Bucegi" ("On the Bucegi Mountains"). The work is reproduced in the monography "Nicolae Grigorescu", George Oprescu, Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, vol. 2, 1962, under cat. 232, with the title "Ciobănaș în munții Bucegi" ("Shepherd in the Bucegi Mountains"). The work is reproduced in "România pitorească", Alexandru Vlahuță, under page 141, with the title "Pe Bucegi" ("On the Bucegi Mountains". The work is also mentioned, described, and reproduced in "N. Grigorescu", Nicolae Petrașcu, "Bucovina" Printing House, Bucharest, 1930, on page 39; 199, under cat. 77, under the title "Pe Bucegi".

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