5. Mirror [1974]

The preference for humanistic art was thoroughly approached by Octav Grigorescu through painting, graphics and sculpture studies, as well as by carrying out research in fields such as art history, philosophy, literature and music. Octav Grigorescu would confidently pursue the artistic pathway with a high level of general knowledge. His path would be mostly divided between painting and graphics. Even since childhood, he demonstrates an obvious interest in drawing and colour. In his maturity work, he shows a much more abstract approach, by dedicating several works to an extensively calculated disharmony. In the current work we can reflect upon the artist's specificity. He offers the observer a conglomerate of bodies amongst which boundaries disappear. The osmosis of silhouettes and faces rethinking their identity pathway appears placed in an uncertain topos. Octav Grigorescu's execution technique consists of adding depth to the perspective, by using juxtaposition and juggling discontinuity and simultaneousness. The foreground and background overlap, merging the subjects towards a motif dematerialization effect, appears as his personal style hallmark. The artist masterfully uses drawing as a metamorphosis of shape and concentrates his characters' whole psychology into the graphic course. In the current work, colour appears completely diluted, offering a glimpse of the decisive drawing line.

References

VLASIU, Ioana, "Reflecții asupra realului și asupra limbajului plastic în desenul lui Octav Grigorescu" ("A Study of the Realistic and the Plastic Language in Octav Grigorescu's Drawing"), in "Studii și cercetări de istoria artei" ("Art History Studies and Research"), tom 23, 1976. NOVICOV TERDIC, Ramona, "Lucrări de Octav Grigorescu în colecția complexului muzeal județean Bihor" ("Works by Octav Grigorescu within the Bihor County Museum Complex Collection"), in "Crisia", no. XVII, 1987, Muzeul Țării Crișurilor Publishing House, pp. 701-707.

Dimensions

width 85 cm, height 72 cm, custom 72 × 85 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed and dated bottom right, in black and with pencil, "OG, (19)74"

Research information

The artwork was part of the exhibition at the Lochte Gallery, Hamburg, possibly 1979/ 1985.

Dating

1974

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