Mattis-Teutsch, Hans. Forestry Worker, n.d. Painting

http://courage.btk.mta.hu/courage/individual/n46495

'Woodcutter,' painting of Hans Mattis–Teutsch from late 1940s–early 1950s

Although it is not officially dated, Muncitor forestier (Forestry Worker) was probably painted in the late 1940s or early 1950s, when its author was trying to adapt his artistic creation to the new cultural policies. From the point of view of the technique used, the painting combines tempera and oil painting on plywood. According to the art historian Radu Popica, the painting Muncitor forestier (Forestry Worker) illustrates the “difficulties” encountered by Mattis-Teutsch in the process of adapting to socialist realism (Popica 2015, 12). The artist tried to combine techniques of his art from the 1930s with the precepts of socialist realism. However, this synthesis, called by the artist “constructive-realism,” failed to convince the authorities (Popica 2015, 13). As has been observed by Dan-Octavian Breaz, although Mattis-Teutsch’s art in the 1930s suggested the “new man” of socialist realism, the modernist techniques used by Mattis-Teutsch were in fact incompatible with socialist realism, because they were unsuitable for the purpose that art was supposed to serve in the new society (Breaz 2013, 124). This explains the negative reception of Mattis-Teutsch’s artistic creation in the 1950s, despite his honest attempts to integrate into the new cultural context.

Location

Brașov, Romania
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Creator

Mattis–Teutsch, Hans

Year of creation

1950

Signature

Inv. 0760

Credits

Source: Muzeul de Artă Brașov

Author(s) of this page

Petrescu, Cristina
Pintilescu, Corneliu

References

Breaz, Dan-Octavian. 2013. “Perspective actuale asupra avangardei istorice româneşti: modernizare artistică şi politizare în pictura avangardistă românească.” (Current perspectives on the historical Romanian avant-garde: artistic modernity and political immixture in Romanian avant-garde painting) PhD diss., Babeş-Bolyai University.

Popica, Radu. 2009. “Argument.” In Mattis-Teutsch, artist al avangardei (Mattis-Teutsch, artist of the avant-garde), edited by Radu Popica and Anca Maria Zamfir, 9–10. Braşov: Muzeul de Artă Braşov.

Popica, Radu. 2015. “Centrul artistic braşovean în perioada postbelică (1945-1989).” [Braşov as an artistic centre in the post-war period (1945–1989)]. In Arta braşoveană postbelică: 1945–1989. Repere din colecţia Muzeului de Artă Braşov (Post-war art in Braşov: 1945–1989. Landmarks in the collection of Braşov Art Museum), edited by Radu Popica, 4–23. Braşov: Editura Muzeului de Artă Braşov.

Popica, Radu. 2016. “Centrul artistic braşovean în perioada interbelică şi în anii celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial (1919–1944).” (Braşov as an artistic centre in the interwar period and during the Second World War (1919–1944)) In Arta braşoveană interbelică (Interwar art in Braşov), edited by Radu Popica, 4–57. Braşov: Editura Muzeului de Artă Braşov.

Popica, Radu, interview by Pintilescu, Corneliu, February 13, 2018. COURAGE Registry Oral History Collection

Last edited on: 2018-07-29 11:51:32

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