Nud in fotoliu 

Ion Pacea made this work, entitled Nud in fotoliu, with paint on canvas. The rough brushstrokes might suggest an artist working against the grain of the art world, pushing against social norms in the post-war period. The image is of a nude woman sitting in a chair. She's rendered in warm yellows and reds, contrasting with the cool blues of the background. The lack of facial features gives her an anonymous quality. Ion Pacea was a Romanian artist who lived through tumultuous times, including World War II and the rise and fall of communism. Pacea was a member of the Union of Visual Artists, an organization that was active during the communist regime. During this time, the Romanian communist government sought to control artistic expression, mainly through the establishment of censorship and the promotion of socialist realism. So an image of a female nude, depending on how it was painted, could be seen as either supportive of or in opposition to the social norms of its time. Historical context is key to understanding art, and archival research helps us explore these social and institutional forces.