Artwork
Iarna în Cișmigiu
Iarna în Cișmigiu is an unspecified painting 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
Iarna în Cișmigiu, attributed to Lucia Dem‑Bălăcescu and dated to around 1850, depicts a winter scene of a city park. The composition centers on leaf‑less trees and snow‑covered rooftops, rendered in a subdued palette of browns, whites and grays that convey the chill of the season.
Subject & Meaning
The work presents a quiet urban landscape, with the foreground occupied by skeletal trees and the background by aging structures whose roofs bear a thin veil of snow. The starkness of the setting suggests a moment of stillness, emphasizing the passage of time and the muted atmosphere of a cold day.
Technique & Style
Dem‑Bălăcescu employs a heavily textured application of paint, creating thick, impasto‑like strokes that give the surface a tactile, almost scraped quality. This rough handling of the medium contrasts with the softness of the snow, enhancing the visual tension between solidity and fragility.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1850, the painting belongs to the early period of Romanian landscape art, a time when artists began to document local scenery with a more personal, expressive approach. Its provenance remains limited to museum collections, where it serves as an example of mid‑nineteenth‑century urban winter imagery.
Artist & collection
