105. Breakfast (Elena Gradin) [1947]

Eustațiu Stoenescu followed the path to Paris at just 16 years old, when he crossed the threshold of the Julian Academy. He went on to study under the guidance of Professor Jean-Paul Laurens, thanks to whom he came into contact with other notable artists of the time: Rodin, Bourdelle or Albert Besnard. Stoenescu was, therefore, a precocious artist. His international movement for studies brought him closer to the art of Velázquez, Rembrandt or Whistler, artists whom he greatly admired. The theme of the current work is a recurring one in Stoenescu's creation. The first mention of the subject is found in the 1914 Paris Salon, when the painter presents the work "Le déjeuner", for which he was awarded the Silver Medal. Now in the collection of the National Museum of Art of Romania, the painting presents an interior scene, in which the child (his own son - Dan), seated in his special chair, is probably seconded by the mother's presence. The two characters are located behind a rich table, on which reside the fruits, teapot, cups, glass and flower vase. The innocence and tenderness of his own son are imprinted on the work from the first strokes laid and are felt from the first look cast upon the work. "Child's Lunch", made in 1920, presents the same subject depicted in a similar manner. However, the unfolding of the composition changes, and this time the character appears placed on the right side of the work. The motif is then repeated in "Child at the table" (1938), a work that was dubbed a "climax" of Stoenescu's creation. Now in his full artistic maturity, the aforementioned work stands out through its vibrant and confident color and strokes laid by the artist. The specific light, directly encapsulated in color, reveals the character in stark contrast with the dark background. Thus, the spectacle of mornings was captured by the Romanian painter through a preferred chromatic range and a specific compositional style. The current work, dated from the artist’s last living year, a period where he roamed through several countries, now presents us a little girl seated at the table, seen from the profile, having a tea cup in front of her, and holding tightly a spoon in her right hand. The candid expression, the wide-open eyes that directly look at the painter, reveal his boundless love for the playful in nature. The precise delimitation of the strokes, the chromatic transitions from the warm, bright palette reserved for the little protagonist towards the dark shades that make up the background of the work reiterate Eustațiu Stoenescu's qualities as a portraitist of temperament. The French correspondent of Art News magazine noted in 1927: "Stoenescu's portraits are portraits of the soul and likewise his landscapes which, in accordance with Stendhal's expression, are real "états d'âme".

References

OPRESCU, Gheorghe, ”Stoenescu”, Publishing House of Schools, Bucharest, 1946.

Dimensions

width 46 cm, height 64 cm

Description

ulei pe carton, signed and dated top left, in ochre, "Stoenescu, (19)47"

Research information

The work was part of the retrospective exhibition "Eustatiu Stoenescu", Art Safari, Bucharest, 2024. The work was part of the exhibition "The Portrait in Romanian Painting from Private Collections", National Museum Cotroceni, 2014.

Dating

1947

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