111. Fiery Thoughts [1956.-1958.]

In the second half of the 1960s, after pre-war, socially engaged realism, symbolic interpretations of war horrors, and heroic depictions of the National Liberation War, Marijan Detoni (1905 – 1981) ventured into the abstraction of cosmic and reflective associations. His paintings from this cycle are characterized by dark backgrounds and compositions that dynamically relate circular shapes. The painting Radiant Thoughts also, by displaying circles floating in dark space, associates to the physical order of the universe, which man, once he discovers its regularities, will call order or harmony. The relation of the cosmic order (considering the context of the cycle and other paintings born in it) and human psyche (considering the title of this work) suggests contemplation of the role of human consciousness in the overall reality. This painting is permeated by the poetry suggested by associations of lightness and weightlessness in which the painted circles float, appear and disappear. Parts of the painting and centers of circles sometimes stand out in color, and an irregular red, transparent form, like a veil that is more discreet in some places and more intensely present in others, runs throughout the entire composition. All of this reveals a completely abstract thought of artistic work, which may be unusual for an artist whose most famous paintings and graphics are narrative realistic. But, already from the Fantasy of a Decayed Wall (1938), Detoni succeeds in connecting experiences of reality with an abstract painting expression, experimenting with form and matter. The inspiration for his post-war, abstract paintings of cosmic lyricism came from his partisan days, while during long nights he watched the dark sky through which the glow of the stars breaks through and thought about human life, the insignificance of an individual in front of the vast universe, but simultaneously (and thats why) about his responsibility towards the human community. Therefore, Detoni's paintings from the post-war period radiate existential optimism, faith in the victory of the human spirit, and constructive social forces. FG

Dimensions

width 81 cm, height 65 cm

Description

oil on canvas

Dating

1956.-1958.

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