The Homecoming of Ștefan Sadovnicov

Abstract

Ștefan Sadovnicov is the artist who approaches several genres of painting. His creative activity is based on the connection of the three fields of arts: painting, music and literature. He writes poems, evokes the old times, paints. That is why the city of his childhood and youth – Bălți – appears to him represented as a universe rich in colors, shapes, sounds, etc. In all the works with this motif we feel the artist’s affection for the city of his soul. Ștefan Sadovnicov is one of the few artists of great sensitivity, depth and intelligence. The series of paintings with the title „the city that no longer exists...”, executed in the 70s–80s, are not just simple landscapes with buildings specific to the time, they retain deep meanings. The main reasons are longing, going back in time, nostalgic memories, etc. the visual artist did not simply paint the urban landscape, but selected the histories of the streets and buildings of Bălți, looked for old pictures and asked the residents. He approached the subject philosophically, drawing a parallel between the city and people who have souls.