49. Tatar Woman with Scarf

The Dobrujan space had a special charm for the artist, as a world that he preserved in his thoughts, writings or paintings. The artist's perception of Oriental women, who were bound to hold an important spot in his works, "breathed" through the discovery of a universe that was typical for Mangalia and Balchik, places that define, to an overwhelming extent, the activity of the last 15 years of his career (approximately 1926-1938). Tonitza's Turkish women transcend the pure pictorial representation, as they are often integrated in poetic compositions, full of a romanticism which often defines the painter. The painter's crafted narrative is obviously inspired by the lifestyle, as well as the space and time conception worn by these national "Orientals". His thoughts about the feelings awoken by the Oriental woman resurface even since before 1933, when Tonitza become acquainted with the Balchik universe and started painting it. "I sprinkled nacre powder on the garden alleys, for her feet were rosier and more delicate than rose petals... I wove for her a silk thread gazebo, so that the sun does not touch her, for her body was whiter than a turtledove's breast... I decided to rip all the gemstones from her hair, for, in her hair, gemstones seemed to be worthless crocks... When she laughed, her laughter pulled clouds apart, for her laughter was the only heavenly delight..." [Nicolae Tonitza, Când moare Darimé, quoted by Petru Comarnescu, N.N. Tonitza, Ed. Tineretului, p. 277-275]. A deep thinker at the purpose of painting and art in general, Tonitza's "poetry" moves towards painting through sensitivity, rather than to the realism of pure observation. "Tatar Woman with Scarf" vibrates precisely thanks to this sensitivity, the daydreaming face defining a new archetype of the Oriental character, as it was created by a Tonitza enamoured with the deep Dobruja.

References

BARBU BREZIANU, "N.N. Tonitza", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1986 JIANU, Ionel, "Tonitza", Căminul Artei, Bucharest, 1945

Dimensions

width 23 cm, height 27 cm, custom 27 × 23 cm

Description

gouache and oil on paper, signed, noted and located upper right, with pencil, "N. N. Tonitza, Studiu, Balcic"

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