Artwork
Femeie cu tamburină
Femeie cu tamburină is an unspecified painting by the Biedermeier artist Gheorghe Tattarescu. It dates from 1848 and is held in the collection of the Bucharest Municipality Museum.
About this work
Overview
Gheorghe Tattarescu’s 1848 oil painting *Femeie cu tamburină* depicts a solitary woman poised with a tambourine. The work is part of the Museum of Ethnography’s collection and exemplifies the intimate domestic focus characteristic of the Biedermeier period in Central Europe.
Subject & Meaning
The figure is presented in a three‑quarter view, gazing directly at the viewer. She wears a white blouse, a blue‑and‑red skirt, and a red ribbon that secures her dark hair. Her expression is ambiguous—serious yet tinged with a faint smile—suggesting a moment of poised anticipation before she might begin to play.
Technique & Style
Rendered with a dark, non‑descriptive background, the composition isolates the subject, allowing the contrast of light on her clothing and the tambourine to dominate the visual field. The painting’s restrained palette and attention to domestic detail align it with Biedermeier aesthetics, while its emotive focus hints at the broader Romantic interest in personal feeling.
History & Provenance
Created during a period when Tattarescu was advocating neoclassical principles in Romanian art, the canvas entered the Museum of Ethnography’s holdings at an unspecified date. Its survival in a public collection has enabled continued study of early Romanian engagement with European artistic currents.
Artist & collection
Artist
Gheorghe Tattarescu (Romanian pronunciation: ; October 1818 – October 24, 1894) was a Romanian painter and a pioneer of neoclassicism in his country's modern painting.
