116. Spring at Câmpina [1885-1890]

Nicolae Grigorescu

1838, Pitaru, Dâmboviţa - 1907, Câmpina

Estimate

EUR 70.000 - 120.000

Sold

EUR 95.000

Do you have a similar item for sale? Contact us.

How to bid online?

Session

Tue, 22 March 2022 19:00

A lover of nature and its lyrical metaphors, artist Nicolae Grigorescu was to complete his education as a plein-air artist at Barbizon, where he remained for eight years. Alongside young Grigorescu, the painters Jean-François Millet, Narcisse Virgilio Diaz de la Peña, Théodore Rousseau, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Charles Jacques, Jules Dupré, Constant Troyon, Paul Huet, Charles-François Daubigny, Gustave Courbet and others worked at Barbizon. It was here, beneath the huge canopies of shade of the Fontainebleau forest - a place of encounter with nature and the search for the eternal moment - that the first landscape painters of the 19th century found themselves. In Barbizon, his artistic repertoire would be enriched with subjects such as everyday scenes of local life, forest edges, solitary trees, streams or foliage, which were to be some of his most repeated landscape subjects on his return home. Back in the country, the working technique assimilated in Barbizon can be seen in the landscapes created in Rucăr, Dâmbovicioara, Lunca Siretului, Câmpulung-Muscel or Târgoviște, places that the artist will visit continuously during the summer. From 1868 onwards we often meet him in the area of Câmpulung-Rucăr, enjoying the hilly and harmonious relief, which is in keeping with his meditative spirit. The landscapes and fairs created in these places will be strongly influenced by his stay in Barbizon, illustrating his deep relationship with nature. The lessons learnt from the Impressionist painters of Fontainebleau can also be seen in the technical issues, in the free way of painting, in the brightness of the tones and in the expressiveness of the brushstrokes. His direct observation of nature in its incessant change, accentuated by his sensitivity and receptivity to the beauty of the surrounding world will determine the modulation of his pictorial language within the realistic approach. Visually above all, both by the manner of execution, by clarity, and by the bright and truthful colouring, Grigorescu will portray himself as a believer in nature, which he will dress in unparalleled plastic expressions. Around it, subjects such as peasants ploughing the fields, going up and down country roads, peasants toasting at the gate, young shepherds and shepherdesses guarding flocks of sheep, old peasant huts or forest edges will offer a vast picturesque repertoire. "La marginea crângului" ("At the edge of the grove"), a motif also practised at Barbizon, was to be illustrated in 1910 in the first monograph dedicated to the artist - "The life and work of the painter N. I. Grigorescu" by Alexandru Vlahuță. In 1942, the work "At the edge of the grove", along with a series of thematic works, was also illustrated in the volume "Poezii populare ale românilor" ("Romanian Folk Poems") by Vasile Alecsandri. (G.M.)

References

VLAHUȚĂ, Alexandru, "Pictorul Nicolae Grigorescu. Viața și opera lui" ("The painter Nicolae Grigorescu. His life and work"), Casa Școalelor Publishing House, Bucharest, 1910. VIDA, Mariana, "Grigorescu pictor al naturii=Grigorescu peintre de la nature: (1838-1907)", Publishing House of the Art Museum of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Bucharest, 2007.

Dimensions

width 43 cm, height 62.5 cm, custom 62,5 Ã 43 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed bottom centred, with brown, "Grigorescu"

Research information

The artwork is reproduced in the monograph "ViaÈa Èi opera pictorului N. I. Grigorescu" ("The life and work of the painter N. I. Grigorescu"), Alexandru VlahuÈÄ, SOCEC, Bucharest, 1910 at p. 44, under the title "La marginea crÃ¢ngului" ("At the edge of the grove"). The artwork is reproduced in "N. Grigorescu", by Nicolae PetraÈcu, Bucovina Printing House, Bucharest, 1930, at cat. 68, p. 181, under the title "Ãn marginea crÃ¢ngului" ("At the edge of the grove"). The artwork is the first illustration in the volume "Poezii populare ale romÃ¢nilor" ("Folk poems of the Romanians") by Vasile Alecsandri, Casa Ècoalelor, Bucharest, 1942 at p. 32, under the title "La marginea dumbrÄvii" ("At the edge of the woods").

Dating

1885-1890

PROVENANCE

the historical collection of banker Ernest Edmond Goodwin (1848-1931). Ernest Goodwin, a native Englishman and deputy director of the Banque de Roumanie, married to Maria (MiÈa) ÈuÈu, was known for the skill with which he assembled some of the master's best paintings, his collection competing in number and value with those of Eugeniu Carada and Alexandru VlahuÈÄ. Over a period of twenty years he purchased works by Grigorescu, which he chose after repeated visits to his studio and less frequently from exhibitions. At least until 1910 the work was in the collection of the banker, who after that year decided to sell it and return to the UK.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For clarifications regarding the bidding procedure, hammer price costs, guarantee, payment, and collection terms for the winning lot, we recommend carefully reading/re-reading the Bidding Regulations.

For additional information regarding the lot and the auction, please contact the Art Consultants Department.