77. Nude in Nature [1890-1900]

With her bare body, stretched out on the grass, oriented towards the landscape that is revealed to us in the background, the carefully depicted female muse from behind will represent one of the preferred motifs, often revisited by the artist, especially after his studies in Paris. Dimitrie Serafim comes from a family of church painters (his parents were Greeks, originally from Varna), in which his father and his brother, Anton, followed and perfected the craft. However, the young Dimitrie will study painting and drawing in Bucharest, under the guidance of Theodor Aman, Gheorghe Tattarescu, and C.I. Stăncescu. He respects his teacher Tattarescu, but closely admires Nicolae Grigorescu's work. He arrives in Paris in 1888, where he studies with famous pedagogic artists of the time and take on the subject of the nude from his teacher, William Bouguereau. The nude was, in fact, a subject often encountered in academic education, along with religious or mythological scenes. During his stay in the French capital, Dimitrie Serafim will annually participate in the Salon of the Society of French Artists, and the Universal Exhibition in 1900, where he wins the bronze medal. The Parisian frenzy and visits to the big museums facilitate the meeting of the Romanian student with the great universal works; and at the same time with the possibility of making copies of them (we mention here a copy after Henner, kept by the National Museum of Art in Bucharest). He will return to Bucharest in 1900, under the pretext of taking a vacant position at the School of Fine Arts here. Influenced by naturalism and the precepts of academicism, he will continue to create and exhibit at the main local artistic events.

Dimensions

width 120.5 cm, height 60.5 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed upper right, in red, "Dim. Serafim"

Dating

1890-1900

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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