41. The embrace [70s]

Vaska Emanuilova is one of the bright figures in the history of Bulgarian sculpture. Her name has been associated with the Society of Women Artists since their first exhibitions, as well as the Society of New Artists since 1931. Emanuilova was born in the village of Komshtitsa in 1905. She graduated from the Second Girls' High School in Sofia, where she took lessons in engraving with graphic designer Mihail Krastev. She graduated with a degree in sculpture from the Academy of Arts in 1927 under Prof. Ivan Lazarov. Her painting professor, Tseno Todorov, greatly influenced her artistic views on form, color and light. In 1939, Vaska Emanuilova went to Paris, where she did a three-month specialization. A branch of the Sofia City Art Gallery bears her name. The sculptor is known for her interest in the genre of small sculptures, but she often works in the monumental genre as well. A characteristic technique for her is the use of plaster, terracotta and bronze, and the subjects that excite her are mainly portrait and nude body. The attitude towards the form is of particular importance in the work of Vaska Emanuilova: "The interest of the author is divided between the solid volumes and the closed form, the fine linearity and the definiteness of the contour". The sculpture, which recreates two embraced, reclining female bodies, dates from around the 1970s. In the author's work from this period, we find similar compositions made of terracotta. Most likely a result of the time spent in the village of Komshitsa, where nature and everyday life changed the focus of her work. She became more interested in individual experience and changed the trajectory of her work from collective tragedy and heroism to personal experiences and feelings, as is evident in the sculpture "Embrace". The work is a lyrical reading of captured moments from the artist's life, filled with love and tenderness. A concept characteristic of Emanuilova is her work with the "living model". Her sculptures are a rare example of a combination between perfect construction of form and movement, and at the same time - distinguished by an unbearable spiritualism. (S.Ya.)"

References

Fileva, Adelina and Dekova, Galina (2021). Vaska Emanuilova, The Power of Form. Sofia: publisher Sofia City Art Gallery

Dimensions

depth 19 cm, width 30 cm, height 12 cm

Description

terracotta

Dating

70s

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