73. Odalisque [1943]

Adventurous spirit, Iosif Iser will take a long series of journeys, which will remain engraved in the economy of his work as views of important European geographical placements. Studies conducted in the West eased the meeting between the Romanian artist and the works of the universal art great masters. He will thus take up, in the execution of his works, the particularities of artists such as Paul Cézanne, André Derain, Théodore Rousseau or Othon Friesz. The meeting with the Dobrogea vein will thus remain in the development of his work as a formative experience. Enchanted by the mystery of the Orient and seduced by the exotic abundance of landscapes, he will travel repeatedly to Constanța, Mangalia or Turtucaia, but also to Balchik or the Bosphorus. He will dedicate a long period of time to the study of traditions and customs of the Turkish minority on the shores of the Black Sea. From the same pictorial theme, the odalisque series would emerge later down the line, and they would remain ingrained in his public's collective memory. In Iser's artistic record, the Eastern world will be a new-found paradise to which he will often return. Unlike his predecessors, the artist will give to his creations a darker and much more dramatic vision. He paints with the same precision which he uses in his graphic work and opts for a vivid, exuberant chromatic. He uses the tern colour of Dobrogea and of its arid landscape. His characters are geometrized, and his palette gradually lights up, often having shades of red, green, yellow or orange. The artist choses, from what he sees around, the most representative frame to transpose in his pictorial narration. Iser succeeds, thus, to transpose the stories of the Orient in a series dedicated to odalisques, Tartars, traditional houses, minarets or streets in the East.

References

MIHALACHE, Marin, "Iser", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1982. The catalogue of the exhibition "Călătoriile lui Iser" ("Iser's Travels"), Alina Petrescu, Publishing House of the National Art Museum of Romania, Bucharest, 20121.

Dimensions

width 39.5 cm, height 32 cm

Description

oil on cardboard, signed upper right, in black, "ISER"; dated upper left, in black, "(19)43"

Dating

1943

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For clarifications regarding the bidding procedure, hammer price costs, guarantee, payment, and collection terms for the winning lot, we recommend carefully reading/re-reading the Bidding Regulations.

For additional information regarding the lot and the auction, please contact the Art Consultants Department.