Culver City,
California
x
Maker: Ileana Radulescu (1909-1981)
Landscape at Drumul Taberei
Date Made: Late 1960s
Country: Romania
Method: oil on canvas
Measurements: 82 cm x 90.5 cm x 5 cm; 32 5/16 in x 35 5/8 in x 1 15/16 in
As the Romanian economy prospered in the 1960s, construction started on Drumul Taberei, a vast new neighborhood in Bucharest. In her painting, Radulescu expresses the glowing optimism of the time through delicate brushstrokes and the application of bright and unsaturated colors. This new district was widely considered state of the art, offering more privacy and a higher standard of living, with generous parkland. The painting may have been commissioned by the Romanian Communist Party to advertise the success of the construction project. However, due to rapid construction and material shortages, there were manifold technical defects and sparse green spaces. Radulescu’s painting portrays a utopian urban dream, which exists exclusively in the realm of the imagination.
Accession Number: 2015.054.007
Item Name: Painting
Collection/Series: Painting Collection