Geraniums 1960

Corneliu Michailescu made this painting with oil paint, smearing thick strokes of blues, greens and pinks across the surface. I can imagine him, standing in front of his subject, trying to capture the light as it lands on the building, flowers, and plant pots. The brushstrokes are direct and unblended, almost urgent, as if he were in a race against time. I love the way he rendered the geraniums, blobs of pink and red surrounded by expressive green foliage. It feels as though Michailescu sees the forms as solid shapes, building them up with layers of pigment. The whole painting reminds me of Bonnard or Vuillard; painters with an intensity of vision, but here, with an eastern European sensibility. It shows how art constantly reinvents itself, how artists build upon and respond to those who came before. It’s all just one big conversation, isn’t it? And painting is such an open language, able to speak in many tongues.