The photos of the lot are informative and indicative, and cannot provide a highly detailed view of the object from all angles. We recommend a careful physical inspection of the lot before bidding.
The photos of the lot are informative and indicative, and cannot provide a highly detailed view of the object from all angles. We recommend a careful physical inspection of the lot before bidding.
Although he would linger in various studios and would study in Paris as well, Nicolae Grigorescu would be a self-taught artist, capable to harness his own natural talents all by himself. The studying abroad period corresponds to the accomplishment of true analytical exercises within French museums. He exploits his spare time, transcribing it to reproduction sessions based on the works of great universal artists. This way, he would manage to better understand their vision and technique. At the end of his studies, Grigorescu acquires a full aesthetic maturity, as well as a significant power of pictorial expression. Paris is the city where the artist develops intellectually, and especially humanely. He exploits the time spent in France in order to exhibit as much as possible. In 1867, during the Exposition Universelle in Paris, one of his works is purchased by Napoleon III himself. Unlike Naturalists, who used to focus on inexpressive details, Grigorescu succeeds in harnessing the amazing force of the essential. Most of the times, during his artistic explorations, he starts from a humble motif which he elevates to art status with the help of an imaginary pedestal. His craving for permanent creation transmutes into quickly sketched drawings of all the elements fomenting his imagination. His creation abounds with pictorial representations of creatures such as the cat, the fly, the ox or the rat. They complete the artist's animal-inspired work, restating his continuous interest in representing everything that surrounds him. "The world - he saw it in pictures. He used to paint with his eyes, with his thoughts, when he did not paint with his hands.", emphasized Alexandru Vlahuță in the book he dedicated to the artist. Starting from rupestrian art until contemporary times, small creatures served in the creation of numerous artists as symbol-filled elements. The cat usually appears as a reflection of sensuality and seduction, just like a hunter idly waiting for its prey or like a divinity that must be worshipped. However, in Grigorescu's work, the connotations offered by the contexts in which the feline is captured are completely different. The artist captures the small animal in a curled up position, searching for domestic comfort. Yet, the way the artist creates contortion of the cat's body reveals the euphoria and the security it needs in order to fall asleep in such circumstances. Staring from Da Vinci, who declared that "even the smallest of felines is a work of art", up till the Romanian artist who dedicated at least three oil paintings to these special protagonists, the artistic world proved itself to be very accommodating towards cats' universe. The present work represents one of the few oil configurations of creatures outside of the bovine family in Grigorescu's work. The paintbrush movements and the lighting play confirm the artist as a nature lover, willing to transpose into his canvases as many fragments as possible from a fabulous frame, which dominated his entire creation. If in universal painting the small creatures are often captured sneaking outside the frame, in Grigorescu's work the creatures enjoy the unusual light of the close-up. The main character of the current work purrs nonchalantly under its creator's protective paintbrush. The cat oversteps the sketch limits, disturbing its owner to such extent, that it is presented to us as an oil painting. We are invited to contemplate it in a meditative way, and at the same time it focuses on its own dreamy mood, ignoring us in its usual feline style.
References
CEBUC, Alexandru, "Grigorescu", Official Journal, 2017.
OPRESCU, George, "Nicolae Grigorescu", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1963.
VLAHUȚĂ, Alexandru, "Pictorul Grigorescu - Viața și opera lui", Alexandru Vlahuță, Bucharest, 1910.
Dimensions
width 27 cm, height 19.5 cm, custom 19,5 Ã 27 cm
Description
oil on cardboard, signed bottom left, with red, "Grigorescu"
PROVENANCE
Dr Theodor Burghele's collection.
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.
Detalii
Although he would linger in various studios and would study in Paris as well, Nicolae Grigorescu would be a self-taught artist, capable to harness his own natural talents all by himself. The studying abroad period corresponds to the accomplishment of true analytical exercises within French museums. He exploits his spare time, transcribing it to reproduction sessions based on the works of great universal artists. This way, he would manage to better understand their vision and technique. At the end of his studies, Grigorescu acquires a full aesthetic maturity, as well as a significant power of pictorial expression. Paris is the city where the artist develops intellectually, and especially humanely. He exploits the time spent in France in order to exhibit as much as possible. In 1867, during the Exposition Universelle in Paris, one of his works is purchased by Napoleon III himself. Unlike Naturalists, who used to focus on inexpressive details, Grigorescu succeeds in harnessing the amazing force of the essential. Most of the times, during his artistic explorations, he starts from a humble motif which he elevates to art status with the help of an imaginary pedestal. His craving for permanent creation transmutes into quickly sketched drawings of all the elements fomenting his imagination. His creation abounds with pictorial representations of creatures such as the cat, the fly, the ox or the rat. They complete the artist's animal-inspired work, restating his continuous interest in representing everything that surrounds him. "The world - he saw it in pictures. He used to paint with his eyes, with his thoughts, when he did not paint with his hands.", emphasized Alexandru Vlahuță in the book he dedicated to the artist. Starting from rupestrian art until contemporary times, small creatures served in the creation of numerous artists as symbol-filled elements. The cat usually appears as a reflection of sensuality and seduction, just like a hunter idly waiting for its prey or like a divinity that must be worshipped. However, in Grigorescu's work, the connotations offered by the contexts in which the feline is captured are completely different. The artist captures the small animal in a curled up position, searching for domestic comfort. Yet, the way the artist creates contortion of the cat's body reveals the euphoria and the security it needs in order to fall asleep in such circumstances. Staring from Da Vinci, who declared that "even the smallest of felines is a work of art", up till the Romanian artist who dedicated at least three oil paintings to these special protagonists, the artistic world proved itself to be very accommodating towards cats' universe. The present work represents one of the few oil configurations of creatures outside of the bovine family in Grigorescu's work. The paintbrush movements and the lighting play confirm the artist as a nature lover, willing to transpose into his canvases as many fragments as possible from a fabulous frame, which dominated his entire creation. If in universal painting the small creatures are often captured sneaking outside the frame, in Grigorescu's work the creatures enjoy the unusual light of the close-up. The main character of the current work purrs nonchalantly under its creator's protective paintbrush. The cat oversteps the sketch limits, disturbing its owner to such extent, that it is presented to us as an oil painting. We are invited to contemplate it in a meditative way, and at the same time it focuses on its own dreamy mood, ignoring us in its usual feline style.
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.
References
CEBUC, Alexandru, "Grigorescu", Official Journal, 2017.
OPRESCU, George, "Nicolae Grigorescu", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1963.
VLAHUȚĂ, Alexandru, "Pictorul Grigorescu - Viața și opera lui", Alexandru Vlahuță, Bucharest, 1910.
Dimensions
width 27 cm, height 19.5 cm, custom 19,5 Ã 27 cm
Description
oil on cardboard, signed bottom left, with red, "Grigorescu"
