George Baron Löwendal "the Young Woman" Circa 1940 - Slavic Realism

Rare and magnificent portrait composed around 1940 by the Romanian painter George Löwendal.
In addition to this woman being young and beautiful, her face exudes an expressive force and an intense vibration. Qualities that can be found in every portrait that Löwendal created; most often peasants from the Bukovina region of Romania.
He knew how to capture their expressions with sensitivity, using a precise and incisive drawing line, a lively and spontaneous touch, always in a palette of warm colors.

George Baron Löwendal was born on May 10, 1897 in St. Petersburg, Russia, to a noble Russo-Danish family.
Son of Baron Lavrenti II Löwendal, artillery officer of the Tsarist army, and Ljubov Gavrischova, daughter of an officer of the Russian fleet.
He studied Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg between 1914 and 1917 under the guidance of artists such as Aleksandr Makovsky.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 marked a tragic turning point in his life: his family was decimated.
George fled to Bessarabia, which became Romanian in 1918, where he discovered his passion for theater.
From 1918 to 1945, he worked as a set designer and painter in several Romanian theaters.
He excelled in portraits, capturing the soul of Bukovina's peasants, and he created innovative sets for approximately 200 plays.
In 1937, he exhibited in Bucharest, and in 1938, he founded the first Free Academy of Fine Arts and an art school for children.
Between 1938 and 1945, he painted icons for the Trei-Ierarhi Church in Iasi.
After the Second World War, despite the Soviet occupation, he continued his career thanks to his realistic style and popular themes.
As part of the Bucharest Salon, he exhibited in 1945 on the walls of the Romanian Parliament, a series of portraits of peasants imbued with strong realism.
He died on February 18, 1964 in Bucharest.

His daughter Lydia is trying to preserve his work, and in 2010, his granddaughter Ariadna Avram founded the Löwendal Foundation: https://www.lowendal.ro

Oil on cardboard, in perfect condition, signed with the monogram "GL" at the top right.
Size: 18,9 x 13 Inches without frame and 27,8 x 20,3 Inches with its solid wood frame