1. Archer at Rest [1926]

A preliminary sketch of the work will be presented to the public at the artist's solo exhibition in 1926. Also, at this exhibition, Ion Jalea presents several works inspired by social themes - "The Ox Driver", "Peasant Woman with Pumpkin", "The Man with the Shovel", "Harrow", all these works depicting scenes of work from the lives of ordinary people, representative of a whole social category. In Bucharest, the artist will study under the guidance of Dimitrie Paciurea and Frederic Storck. He will now embrace the national character by approaching subjects inspired from Romanian fairy tales and mythology: The Stone-Breaker, The Wood-Bender, and others. He will later arrive in Paris, where he will study with Paul Landowski and Henri Bouchard. In Paris, Ion Jalea will feel the need to distance himself from the precepts of academicism and will prefer, instead, the sensitive art of Rodin or Bourdelle. Despite the exceptional results of his creative effort, there is no doubt about his artistic mastery, World War I will deeply mark the sculptor, taking his left arm and also one of his primary work tools. The war period will thematically transpose into his art – he will sculpt soldiers' faces and the whole turmoil of the battle – works from this period being authentic front sketches. In this work, the foreground returns to the human figure in a static pose, but with a vibrant expressiveness. Demonstrating special attention to details, Ion Jalea takes the necessary time to study the anatomy of his characters and to truthfully convey (sometimes exaggerated, under Bourdelle's influence) the predominant traits. Over time, the work has attracted the attention of critics who have devoted whole pages to its author. Stone variants of the sculpture are in the collections of important museums, among which we mention the Ion Jalea Sculpture Museum in Constanta, or the Brukenthal National Museum in Sibiu. Variants of the work have been widely reproduced in periodicals of the time: "1931 Plastic", "1956 Plastic Art" and, of course, in monographs dedicated to the artist. A version of "The Bowman" took part in the Biennale of Venice in 1938, and reproductions on exhibition posters, on catalog covers or in the press were also ubiquitous. Ion Jalea demonstrates, once again, his thorough knowledge of the medium but also the extraordinary capacity to model forms.

References

MIHALACHE, Marin, "Ion Jalea", State Publishing House for Literature and Art, Bucharest, 1956.

Dimensions

depth 27 cm, width 21 cm, height 38 cm

Description

patinated plaster, signed and dated lower right, "I. Jalea, (19)26"; signed on the base, on the back, "I. Jalea"

Research information

A preliminary sketch of the work will be presented to the public during the artist's personal exhibition in 1926. A version of the work is in the collection of the "Ion Jalea" Sculpture Museum, Constanța. A stone version of the work is in the collection of the Brukenthal Museum, Sibiu, inv. 172. A version of the work is found in the art collection of the Court of Justice of the European Union, as a donation from the Romanian state. A version of the work participated in the exhibition organized at the Art Home, 1926. A version of the work is reproduced in the volume "Plastic of the year 1931", under the title "Archer", on page 36. A version of the work participated in the Biennale of Venice in 1938 and is reproduced in the catalog "La Romania alla Biennale di Venezia 1938", Nicolae Iorga. A version of the work is reproduced in the magazine "Plastic Art", no. 2, 1956, page 50. A version of the work is reproduced in the monograph "Ion Jalea", Petru Comarnescu, Meridiane Publishing, 1962, German edition, on page 12. A version of the work is reproduced in the catalog of the Art Museum Constanța, Sculpture Section, 1971, cat. 79. A version of the work is reproduced on the back cover of the magazine "Art", year XXX, no. 12, 1983. A version of the work is reproduced under the title "Resting Archer" in the monograph "Ion Jalea", Marin Mihalache, State Publishing for Literature and Art, at position 11.

Dating

1926

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