148. Morning at Vlaici [cca. 1917]

At Vlaici, Camil Ressu arrived at the beginning of the last century, at the invitation of the collector Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești. Initially, he conducts studies and drawings that he will later transpose into oil on canvas. He surpasses the precepts of academics he acquired in a few months spent in Munich and constructs his own eloquent and well-articulated plastic semantics. He constantly returns to Vlaici, so that his existence will be shared, over time, between the uniformity of urban life and the prolific experiences offered by rural life. He will use direct contact with the peasantry for the development of a deeply subjective vision. The artist insists on delving deeper into the psychology of the characters represented, so he will spark discussions and insist on getting to know his models. In this way, he identifies the true aspects of rural life, which he will transpose into works where he no longer focuses on outlining characters. The artist organizes his compositions horizontally and creates true frescoes of the villages in Olt, Moldova, Vrancea, or Transylvania. He composes balanced and maintains real proportions; he constructs his drawing with meticulousness and submits color to it. He uses a predominantly linear rhythm and a luminous chromatic in an attempt to underline the predominant elements in his works. The artist's works exemplify the life, work, and customs of the rustic world, but sometimes also reveal moments of respite. In landscapes, Camil Ressu will focus predominantly on the picturesque nature, sketching sinuous contours of trees and hills, but will also depict the beauty of rural houses with white walls and colorful roofs. The lapidary realism that Ressu assumes is revealed to us primarily in the cold tones bathed in sunlight, in the large surfaces of light and shadow, and in the truthful rendering of volumes and rhythms.

References

TEODORU, Rada, "Camil Ressu", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1962. COSMA, Gheorghe, "Camil Ressu", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1967. SCHOBEL, Doina, The Catalog of the retrospective exhibition "Camil Ressu", Bucharest, 1981.

Dimensions

width 60.5 cm, height 49 cm

Description

oil on cardboard, signed bottom left, in pencil, "C. Ressu"

Dating

cca. 1917

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