Artwork
Două fetițe
Două fetițe is a print by Lucia Dem-Bălăcescu. It dates from 1850 and is held in the collection of the National Museum of Art of Romania.
About this work
Overview
Două fetițe, attributed to Lucia Dem‑Bălăcescu and dated to around 1850, consists of a plain white sheet bordered by a light‑brown paper frame. The surface bears faint pencil lines and brief blue‑ink annotations, including isolated numbers and short words. The work appears as a single leaf, likely extracted from a larger collection of drawings.
Subject & Meaning
The title suggests a depiction of two girls, yet the sheet contains no figurative drawing, only marginal markings. The absence of imagery indicates that the piece may represent a preparatory study, a compositional experiment, or a pedagogical exercise rather than a finished illustration of the named subject.
Technique & Style
Executed on paper, the piece shows light graphite strokes that have faded over time, accompanied by blue ink notes rendered in a utilitarian hand. The modest materials and informal execution align with mid‑nineteenth‑century sketchbook practices, where artists recorded ideas, measurements, or compositional sketches in a rapid, unpolished manner.
History & Provenance
The sheet’s edges and marginal numbers imply it originated from a bound sketchbook or a series of practice sheets. Its current presentation—framed in light brown paper—suggests a later effort to preserve the fragment. No further ownership records are documented, and the work remains primarily of interest for its insight into Dem‑Bălăcescu’s working process.
Artist & collection
