Landscape with a River

oil, canvas
35. 8 x 46 cm
unsigned 
good state of conservation



Over the River
oil, canvas
35 x 46 cm
unsigned
good state of conservation
 

Horia Bernea – Landscapes from Poiana Mărului

These two works exemplify the mature period of Horia Bernea and bring into focus one of the central themes of his practice: the landscape as a space of reflection and inner experience.

Created during the artist’s stays in Poiana Mărului, the compositions move beyond direct observation of nature, offering instead a deeply personal interpretation in which painterly matter becomes a carrier of meaning.

In Landscape with River, the composition is dynamic, structured through an energetic brushwork and a rich impasto that builds the surface as a living relief. Natural elements – water, vegetation, fallen trunk – are rendered in a tense balance between stability and movement, suggesting the organic vitality of the environment.

By contrast, Across the River introduces a sense of order and equilibrium through the presence of the bridge, an element that organizes the pictorial space and tempers the natural dynamism. The chromatic range is more restrained, and the atmosphere more contemplative, emphasizing the subtle relationship between nature and human intervention.

Seen together, the two works articulate a coherent vision of landscape characteristic of Bernea: nature is not merely a subject, but a site of encounter between the visible and the invisible. This perspective is closely connected to his sustained interest in the spiritual dimension of Romanian traditional culture, particularly during his tenure as director of the Romanian Peasant Museum.

Through the expressive force of gesture and the depth of its visual discourse, this pair of paintings stands as a compelling example of late 20th-century Romanian art, offering both aesthetic strength and conceptual substance to any discerning collection.

Horia BERNEA
(b. 1938, Bucharest, Romania – 2000, Paris, France)

Artistic education:
Faculty of Fine Arts (Pedagogical Institute) Bucharest, with professor Virgiliu DEMETRESCU DUVAL.
Between 1967 and 1998, he held twelve national personal exhibitions in Bucharest, Oradea, and Timișoara and respectively international exhibitions in Birmingham (1970), London, England (1971, 1976, 1980), Edinburgh, Scotland (1970), Paris, France (1975, 1980, 1990, Budapest, Hungary (1992), Rome, Italy (1998).
Retrospective exhibitions were dedicated to him at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest (2005) and the Accademia di Romania in Rome, Italy (2011).
He participated in numerous group exhibitions between 1978 and 2000 (Venice Biennale, Italy, two editions), the Bucharest International Visual Arts Fair (four editions), and the Bucharest National Art Salon.
Winner of the painting prize awarded by the Artists' Union of Plastics from Romania (1970, 1983).