147. Spring in Brittany

The period of almost two decades spent by the artist Grigorescu in France, with some intermittences (1861-1900) would coincide with times of resilient turmoil in the world of visual arts, ending in the triumph of modern art, within which light and colour would prevail over the drawing. Drawn, with a steadfast delight, by the unpredictable show of nature, the artist Grigorescu starts travelling, in the latter half of the 60s, to the lands of Brittany, where he would usually spend his summers. Before getting to the sea, the topic of many of his works, the artist travelled through the old cities of continental Brittany, with old houses, close together around the narrow streets, going up and down the slopes of the heights where they were built. His sojourns in places such as Vitré, Dinan, Granville, or Mont Saint Michel became affective adhesions to the landscape. In addition to the fascination exerted by the places, the artist paid special attention to the thrill of life, vibrating in his portraits, genre scenes, or landscapes he captures in his wanderings. Starting from 1891, his Breton works are present in an always higher proportion - "Fetiță bretonă" ("Breton girl"), "Pe plajă la Granville" ("On the beach at Granville"), "Casă la Vitre" ("House at Vitré"), "Stradă la Vitre ("Street in Vitré")", "Pescăriță la Granville" ("Fishing woman at Granville"), "Țărm de mare și plajă în Bretania" ("Seashore and beach in Brittany"), "Marină" ("Marine"), "Plajă la ocean" ("Ocean beach"), "Țărancă franceză în vie" ("French peasant woman in the vineyard"), "Bătrână la Brolle" ("Old woman at Brolle"), "Han în Bretania" ("Inn in Brittany"), "Primăvară în Bretania" ("Spring in Brittany") - enriching Grigorescu’s repertoire with new expressions. (G.M.)

References

VLAHUȚA, Alexandru, „Pictorul N. I. Grigorescu: Vieața și opera lui”, Ed. Scrisul Românesc, Craiova, 1910. OPRESCU, George, „Nicolae Grigorescu”, Ed. Meridiane, București, 1963. Catalogul Expoziției „Nicolae Grigorescu. Pictură-grafică”, Muzeul de Artă al Republicii Socialiste România, București, 1984-1985. BREZIANU, Barbu, „Nicolae Grigorescu”, Ed. Meridiane, Bucureşti, 1987.

Dimensions

width 57 cm, height 41 cm, custom 41 × 57 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed bottom left, with red, "Grigorescu"

PROVENANCE

Sică Alexandrescu (1896 – 1973) Historical Collection; Victoria and Vasile Parizescu (1925 - 2019) Historical Collection.

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