Constanta Art Museum

Nicolae Grigorescu, Flori de nalbă, ulei pe carton, 300 x 170

„Pots with Poppies”

Nicolae TONITZA (1886–1940)

Influenced by Ștefan Luchian, Nicolae Tonitza painted many still lifes, especially flowers, with a vibrant, expressive paste and a real attachment to the chosen subject. In two simple clay pots – the so-called “rustic jugs”, as the painter himself called them, the irresistible red of the poppy flowers is enhanced by the background of a square grid, which closes the composition, bringing the radiant inflorescences as an offering to the eyes. Chromatically, the composition is supported by subtle and hardly perceptible values, which push the consistent shadows towards the background, where they accompany, almost sonorously, the pure line of the objects and the delicate contour of the ephemeral flowers.