Artwork
Două țărănci la piață
Două țărănci la piață is an unspecified painting by the Social Realist artist Dumitru Ghiață. It dates from 1939 and is held in the collection of the Art Museum of Constanta.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1939 by Romanian painter Dumitru Ghiață, Două țărănci la piață portrays a quiet moment at a rural market. The work belongs to the social‑realist vein of the late interwar period and is part of the Museum of Ethnography’s collection.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas centers on two peasant women attending to a cow, one clutching a bucket and the other a small bowl. Their modest attire and the animal’s presence emphasize everyday labor and the interdependence of people and livestock in traditional village life.
Technique & Style
Ghiață employs a sober, direct visual language rooted in folk art, with thick impasto applied especially to the cow’s fur, producing a tactile surface. The brushwork remains solid and unembellished, reinforcing the work’s straightforward, documentary quality.
History & Provenance
Born in 1888, Ghiață was chiefly known for landscapes and still lifes that often drew on rural motifs. Două țărănci la piață follows his earlier composition Peasants at the Fair and entered the Museum of Ethnography’s holdings, where it remains on display.
Context
The painting emerges from the interwar Romanian art scene, where social realism sought to document the lives of the peasantry amid rapid modernization. Ghiață’s focus on market scenes reflects a broader interest in preserving folk customs and the visual language of the countryside.
Artist & collection
Artist
Dumitru Ghiață (22 September 1888 – 3 July 1972) was a Romanian landscape painter.
