88. Odalisque with Red Sirwals [1927]

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88. Odalisque with Red Sirwals [1927]

Iosif Iser

1881, București - 1958, Bucureşti

Estimate:

EUR 8.000 - 12.000

Sold

EUR 8.000

References

MIHALACHE, Marin, 'Iser', Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1982. The catalogue of the exhibition 'Călătoriile lui Iser' ('Iser's Travels'), Alina Petrescu, Publishing House of the National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest, 2021.

oil on cardboard, 79.5 x 52 cm, 79,5 Ã 52 cm, signed bottom right, in black, 'ISER'

Research information

The work is reproduced in the 'AdevÄrul Literar Èi Artistic' (Literary and Artistic Truth) magazine, 29 December 1929, under the title 'Little Tatar Woman'. The work is reproduced in the 'Iser' album, Alexandru Busuioceanu, Ramuri Publishing House, Craiova, 1930, under the title 'Little Turkish Woman', under cat. VI.

PROVENANCE

Nina Cassian collection; Marcel Romanescu collection.

Enchanted by the mystery of the Orient and seduced by the exotic abundance of the landscapes, he constantly travelled to Constanța, Mangalia, or Turtucaia, but also to Balchik or to the banks of the Bosphorus. The artist will devote a long period of time to the study of traditions and customs of the Turkish minority from the Black Sea shores. From the same pictorial theme, the odalisque series emerged later down the line, and remained ingrained in his public's collective memory. Iser used Dobrogea’s quiet colour and its arid landscape, its characters are slightly geometrized and his palette brightens up gradually, often in shades of red, green, yellow, or orange. The artist chooses, from what he observes around himself, the most representative frame to transpose in his pictorial narration. He thus succeeded to transpose the stories of the Orient in a series dedicated to odalisques, Tatars, traditional houses, minarets or streets in the East. Throughout his life, he has been interested in depicting the lives of the types of people who motivated his creative spirit - harlequins, ballerinas, singers and odalisques. The oriental theme is one of the subjects that established the artist in the history of Romanian art. Within these themes, he focuses mainly on deciphering the complex characters of his characters - Turks or odalisques, whom he differentiates by age. But he will focus particularly on female characters. Sitting on the sofa, in an armchair, on the carpet or illustrated standing, the odalisque caryatids of Iser's creation impress us with every appearance. The oriental costume, consisting of vests, veils, but especially shawls that allow them to move freely and have a more relaxed attitude, is the distinctive element of his works. The painter will therefore focus not only on the psychology of the character, but also on the gestures or the external language, or on details such as the clothing of his musicians. In most of the works that belong to this thematic cycle, as in the present work, shades of red or orange or the decoration enriched with coloured fabrics predominate. The model's statuesque pose and partially nude body will converge towards a contrast between the light flesh and the garment's garish colour. Representative in the economy of his creation by its creative force and unmistakable chromaticism, the present work appears in the volume that Alexandru Busuioceanu dedicated to the artist in 1930, three years after the work was created.

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