9. At the Fountain (Romanian Soldiers at Plevna) [cca. 1913]

The work belongs to the series of compositions created by the artist around the period of the First World War, especially between the years 1916-1918, when he was mobilized alongside other artists and sent to visually document experiences from the front and the life of Romanian soldiers. In this stage, the artist creates numerous sketches, drawings and scenes with soldiers caught in moments of rest, movement or everyday life, his interest being less oriented towards the heroism of war and more towards the human and realistic dimension of the military experience. The work captures two soldiers in a pause moment near a fountain, in an ordinary scene, devoid of the war representation drama. The restrained gestures and calm attitudes suggest fatigue, routine, and the need for silence after the tough front experiences. The theme of the soldier frequently appears in the artist's creation from this period, in works, sketches and drawings dedicated to military life or waiting moments between battles, where a few examples are: "Soldiers during the Russian revolution in Iasi" (1917), "Prisoners", "Soldiers from the Russian army", "The beginnings of the Russian revolution in Iasi (1917),"Ecaterina Teodoroiu" or "Russian soldiers at rest" (1917). These compositions were created especially during the years of the First World War and immediately after 1918, many of them are now in the collections of the National Museum of Art of Romania, the Bucharest Municipality Museum or in the patrimony of museums dedicated to Romanian modern art. Stylistically, the composition reflects Ressu's concern for precise drawing, the unexpected and the solid volumetric construction of the characters. The outlines are well defined, and the predominantly linear rhythm organizes the whole scene in a sober and monumental balance. The chromatics is tempered, built from earth tones, grays, ochres and accents of green, yellow or blue, specific to his works from the war period. This artistic direction can also be linked with other works by Camil Ressu dedicated to simple people, workers, peasants or soldiers, such as "At work in the field", "Potato picking", "At the fountain", "Turks at the fountain" or various studies and sketches made during mobilization. In all of these, the artist focuses on the same sincere and non-idealized representation of the ordinary person, caught in his daily activities and experiences. (S.S)

Literatura

COSMA, Gaston Gh., Camil Ressu, Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1967. ENESCU, Theodor, C. Ressu, Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1984.

Dimenzije

width 40.5 cm, height 51 cm

Opis

oil on canvas, signed bottom left, in black, "C. Ressu"

Izlasci

cca. 1913

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