Pudeur 2003

Curator: Nicolae Maniu's "Pudeur," created in 2003 using oil paint, presents a compelling composition. What springs to mind for you upon seeing this piece? Editor: It strikes me as…controlled. Like a perfectly constructed stage set. The woman, the draped cloth, the fruit—everything seems meticulously arranged and painted, a sort of heightened hyper-realism, if that makes sense. Curator: It does. The positioning, almost theatrical, hints at Maniu’s background in stage design. The fruit especially draws the eye, an offering perhaps, laid out on that stark white cloth. The model's hand gestures offer an additional visual play, subtly negotiating sensuality and shyness in this nude portrait. It's really about navigating this feeling... of coyness? Editor: And think about the layers of production there. Oil paint itself, ground pigments, binders…it all comes from somewhere, is made by someone. And here we have this elaborate studio setup; every element a calculated component in an industry designed to present a certain kind of female body as ideal, a fetish even. What a material tension that is! Curator: Ah, yes! Layers, literally. The "neo expressionist" strokes underlying the classical Romanticism, I suspect, reflect his earlier training and hint to my eye this kind of inner battle between these various movements or emotions within the work. Even though there is a smoothness overall. Do you get that too? A hint of some barely suppressed rawness struggling to break through? Editor: Absolutely. You can see it if you look closely enough. That smoothness you describe feels like an attempt to conceal the labor, both physical and social, required to produce such an image. The layers are of effort as well. So much hidden underneath the final sheen, a kind of obfuscation, just like the fabric being strategically arranged. Curator: Exactly. An interesting paradox, I've always thought. A peek beneath this hyper-real veil… But I also see a kind of empathy, an attempt to engage with that vulnerable gaze, an emotional core—rather than the commodification of her body. I wonder whether Maniu considered the model’s experience of it all in the making. Editor: It’s tricky territory. But isn't the entire tradition loaded in material and social complexity? Maybe there's no escape; this is also what this image reveals? Anyway, Maniu’s technical skill cannot be denied, so it offers plenty to contemplate.