Matej Sternen - Double-sided painting: At the piano
Expert opinion on the work of art (Dr. Ferdinand Šerbelj): The canvas is painted on both sides. The page "a" depicts solo singing accompanied by a pianist, on the other side or. on page "b" the girls in a duet play the piano. Although both scenes are related to music, there are no meaningful connections between them. Therefore, the question of the painter's intention in this work arises. The first page is compositionally complete. The modernist moves in the combination of green and red strands on the figure of the singer and pianist attract attention. I think this scene came before that, on the other hand. as Strnehn marked it with a signature. The other side is discussed in a broad and fast brush strokes, but from these strokes we can conclude that it is a sketch of a concrete double portrait, but I do not know of such a perfect example in Sternen's oeuvre. Both sides fully express Sternen's brush in the painting metie, the question is only about the dating, because among our modernists the chronology of Sternen's oeuvre is still quite vague due to most of the undated works. I would personally opt for the first decades of the last century. A two-sided study, along with the eloquence of Sternen's style, is an attractive example of an encounter with work on an intimate stage, when the artist is free to design future work. Dr. Ferdinand Šerbelj
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Height (cm) | Lenght (cm) | |
Dimensions | 57 | 47 |
Dimensions with frame | 81 | 71 |
20th Century
Painting
Oil on canvas
Portrait
Expert opinion on the work of art (Dr. Ferdinand Šerbelj): The canvas is painted on both sides. The page "a" depicts solo singing accompanied by a pianist, on the other side or. on page "b" the girls in a duet play the piano. Although both scenes are related to music, there are no meaningful connections between them. Therefore, the question of the painter's intention in this work arises. The first page is compositionally complete. The modernist moves in the combination of green and red strands on the figure of the singer and pianist attract attention. I think this scene came before that, on the other hand. as Strnehn marked it with a signature. The other side is discussed in a broad and fast brush strokes, but from these strokes we can conclude that it is a sketch of a concrete double portrait, but I do not know of such a perfect example in Sternen's oeuvre. Both sides fully express Sternen's brush in the painting metie, the question is only about the dating, because among our modernists the chronology of Sternen's oeuvre is still quite vague due to most of the undated works. I would personally opt for the first decades of the last century. A two-sided study, along with the eloquence of Sternen's style, is an attractive example of an encounter with work on an intimate stage, when the artist is free to design future work. Dr. Ferdinand Šerbelj
Signed lower right. Report on the conservation and restoration of the painting.