Artwork
Demonstrație 1907
Demonstrație 1907 is a print by Alexandru Ciucurencu. It dates from 1950 and is held in the collection of the Bucharest Municipality Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1950, this canvas by Alexandru Ciucurencu belongs to the artist’s mature phase after he had secured a reputation in Romania and taken up teaching.
Created circa 1950, this canvas by Alexandru Ciucurencu belongs to the artist’s mature phase after he had secured a reputation in Romania and taken up teaching. The work portrays a collective movement of figures, rendered in a subdued palette of blues, grays and greens, against a turbulent, textured sky. It serves as a visual reference to the 1907 Romanian Peasants’ Revolt, filtered through Ciucurencu’s post‑impressionist sensibility.
Subject & Meaning
The composition gathers a group of peasants in simple attire, some burdened with bundles, suggesting migration or protest. Central to the scene is a figure in a lighter shirt and dark trousers, drawing the eye and perhaps symbolising leadership or individual resolve within the mass. By invoking the 1907 uprising, the painting reflects on social unrest and the collective struggle of rural communities in early twentieth‑century Romania.
Technique & Style
Ciucurencu employs thick, uneven brushwork that creates a palpable impasto surface, lending the image a tactile, almost unfinished quality. The palette is restrained, dominated by muted earth tones, while the sky is rendered in a storm‑like blue, enhancing the work’s emotional tension. These characteristics align with his post‑impressionist approach, emphasizing color, texture, and expressive gesture over precise detail.
History & Provenance
Born in Tulcea in 1903, Ciucurencu studied at Bucharest’s National School of Fine Arts before refining his practice at Paris’s Académie Julian under André Lhote. After returning to Romania, he became a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy and an influential educator. The painting emerged in the post‑World‑War II period, reflecting his later artistic concerns, and has remained within Romanian public collections since its acquisition.
Artist & collection
Artist
Alexandru Ciucurencu (Romanian pronunciation: ; 27 September 1903 – 27 December 1977) was a Romanian Post-Impressionist painter, and a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy.
