77. Returning from the Field [ca. 1907]

Luchian’s journey into art began with religious paintings in the interiors of places of worship. However, the artist will choose to find another path that will help him to better showcase his talent. He will often go to Grigorescu's studio, which he will set as a model and from which he will acquire a set of formative knowledge. However, he will avoid becoming imitative. Grigorescu often presented Luchian as his successor in Romanian art. And indeed, the artist rose to the level of the master’s expectations, even managing to reform Romanian art, especially by adapting it to the international artistic movements at the time. Luchian felt enchanted by the winding line and the decorative rhythm of the Art Nouveau movement, which is why he took and included these traits in his own creation. In the Munich school he learned to pay special attention to drawing and to composition in painting. Studying Degas, he felt inspired by works in which horse races or indoor scenes were represented. He also admired Edouard Manet, so we can find the influence of the French Impressionist in his pastel portraits. In the present work, the light planes and the way the artist relates to the treatment of the ground or to the punctuation of the birds that threateningly populate the dark sky are reminiscent of Van Gogh, just as in the oil painting the green of the meadows and the blue of the sky point to Manet. He will no longer fully conform to the conventions of form, but tends towards an idyllic vision. He will, therefore, deal with themes found in the works of Grigorescu, but will move away from the brightness proposed by the master of Câmpina, and will give the human of the village intense inner feelings and will place him in a much more sober atmosphere. As the main promoter of rural life, Grigorescu fought for its sanctification and elevation to the rank of art. The cart with oxen will appear with recurrence in Ștefan Luchian's work since his artistic debut, but in his graphic works, the subject will be more prominent around 1907. The works in this cycle could be seen as preparatory studies for future works in oil dedicated to carts with oxen and rustic life. The theme indisputably links him to Nicolae Grigorescu, with whom he shares a love of human and nature, but he will differ from him by the execution carried out in a completely different key. Alongside the carts with oxen, in the gloomy and twilight atmosphere, the ever-present figure of the human We find particularly female characters, and in this work, among the expressionist accents, we also identify the theme of motherhood. In the left shot, behind the cart, we can see the maternal figure carrying her baby in her arms. Covered in a headscarf and long clothes, she accompanies the woman in the cart, reins in her hand. The oxen are depicted in the typical manner of this period, in clearly delineated lines and prominent volumes. As a whole, the work gives us clues to the early concerns and quests of the great artist.

Literatura

DRĂGUȚ, Vasile, 'Luchian', Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1968. LASSAIGNE, Jacques, 'Ștefan Luchian', Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1972. CEBUC, Alexandru, 'Luchian', Monitorul Oficial Publishing House, Bucharest, 2008.

Dimenzije

width 63.5 cm, height 48.5 cm

Opis

charcoal on paper, signed bottom right, in charcoal, 'Luchian'

Izlasci

ca. 1907

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