Portrait of the Academician G. Calinescu 1952

Alexandru Ciucurencu's portrait of G. Calinescu is slathered in a really lush, emerald impasto. You can tell Ciucurencu enjoyed just getting in there with the paint, not holding back. Look at the surface, how the brushstrokes build up into a textured map. Especially the way the green jacket is rendered - each stroke seems to be laid down with real intention. It’s like he’s building form and feeling simultaneously. And the way the colors vibrate against each other, that green against the warmer tones of the wood and the books, creates a real energy. It’s all about how the paint itself becomes expressive. He reminds me of someone like Soutine, in the way he handles paint, the raw physicality of it. It’s a reminder that painting is as much about the process, the doing, as it is about the image. Art is an ongoing conversation, an exchange of ideas across time, a form that embraces ambiguity and multiple interpretations.