Florin Mitroi 10.IX.985, 1985
Tempera on wood
50 x 40,8 cm (unframed)
53 x 43,5 x 3,8 cm (framed)
This work is part of a series of portraits painted in egg tempera, a medium the artist favored. This long lasting, fast drying and now mostly obsolete technique has a considerable history.
In these portraits, the big eyes, the lost looks, and the grimaces of resign rendered against the intense matte backgrounds insinuate an outward representation of an inward drama of the self. The artist draws attention to the other side of the “real,” the hidden, exploring the cryptic character of portraiture as a genre.