21. Salon Still Life

Arthur Verona

1868, Brăila - 1946, Bucureşti

Estimate

EUR 2.000 - 3.500

Sold

EUR 2.750

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Session

Thu, 14 December 2023 19:00

With studies in Munich or Paris, following the customs of the time, Arthur Verona becomes familiar with Western art, the Renaissance, as well as classical painting. Although declaring himself an avid admirer of en plein air painting, as practiced by Nicolae Grigorescu, the artist was particularly inclined towards studio painting, which is where his many still lifes come from. Verona established himself at the time as a very good portraitist, as the critics of the time record. His work will therefore evolve from busts dedicated to Princess Maria to murals or frescoes in locations such as the palace of collector Ioan Kalinderu, the palace of Gheorghe Cantacuzino, the Bran Castle Chapel or the ceiling of the Voivodes Staircase in the Royal Palace. In this work, which appears as a reproduction in one of the few volumes dedicated to the artist's work, we discover another painterly universe, less imposing in terms of subject matter but equally impressive in its creative force. We observe the metal tray on which the jam jar is placed, the freshly taken spoon from this jar, the glass of water, and the vase of flowers. The broad, repeatedly juxtaposed tones clearly reveal the impact of the Impressionist movement on the artist. His palette successively runs through low or high tones and thus converges towards the creation of inexhaustible contrasts. The vase of flowers gets the central focus through the shades Arthur Verona applies to the petals. The synergy of sharp lines that overlap in shades of pink, white or purple relates directly to the scraping white tones that cover the surface of the tray and reiterate the antinomy with the abyssal background. At the height of his creative mastery, Arthur Verona will not only paint portraits, genre scenes, or monumental compositions, but will also, so to speak, focus on still lifes from the studio.

References

ZURESCU, Ion, 'Verona', State Publishing House for Literature and Art, Bucharest, 1957.

Dimensions

width 59.5 cm, height 40.5 cm, custom 40,5 Ã 59,5 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed bottom right, in brown, 'Verona'

Research information

The work is reproduced in the 'Verona' album, Ion Zurescu, State Publishing House for Literature and Art, Bucharest, 1957, cat. 25.

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