Artwork
Mama artistului
Mama artistului is an unspecified painting by Pericle Capidan. It dates from 1902 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Art Cluj-Napoca.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1902 by Romanian painter Pericle Capidan, *Mama artistului* is part of the collection of the Museum of Ethnography. The work presents a solitary figure rendered in muted tones, set against a darkened background that emphasizes the subject’s presence through contrast rather than detail.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts a woman, likely the artist’s mother, cloaked in a long, dark coat with her hands concealed in the pockets of the garment. Her pallid, almost translucent face emerges from the shadows, suggesting a quiet introspection or a lingering memory rather than a narrative scene.
Technique & Style
Capidan employs a pronounced chiaroscuro effect, using deep shadows to model the figure and create a three‑dimensional impression on a flat surface. The soft, diffused lighting isolates the face, giving it a ghost‑like quality while the surrounding darkness intensifies the emotional tone of the piece.
History & Provenance
Since its completion in the early twentieth century, the painting has remained within institutional holdings, eventually entering the Museum of Ethnography’s permanent collection. Its placement there reflects the museum’s interest in works that document personal and cultural identity through portraiture.
Artist & collection
Artist
Pericle Capidan painted everyday scenes and quiet moments in oils. His brush captured a Sighișoara street, his own mother in 1902, and a 1923 harem scene among other interiors. He worked from the late 1800s into the…
