Suleiman the Magnificent (2016)

When we talk about great kings, sultans, khan or leaders of old, we always start by describing their great military achievements, that is what usually fascinates the readers the most.

We can go on and on about what Suleiman conquered or built, but let us look at him closely, because not only was he a magnificent leader, he was a Magnificent individual. He was a great ruler, smart, fair and gracious. He truly loved his people and, most of the time, they loved him back.

The richness of Virtosu’s canvas is distinguished by the remarkable range and quality of the gestures that the artist arranges across its textured surface bringing the beautifull story of Suleiman to life in a single image.

Purple, whether in Ancient Egypt, Greece or Rome, was the color of royalty because the coloring process for purple was difficult, required time and was expensive. Virtosu names his oil painting on a decidedly royal figure.

Executed in paint the Suleiman The Magnificent by Gheorghe Virtosu range from graceful of purple, blue, and white to the centerpiece that leads to disclose its actual meaning, before being subsumed on top of dark white background. Virtosu’s work is perhaps above all concerned with creating an expressive pictorial language of action, gesture, feeling, and experience.

The fluid forms and lines of brilliance that dance across the surface of the canvas are a physical manifestation of the artist at the height of his creative authority. The equilibrium of Virtosu's creative hand is traced throughout the surface of the work, as the the story telling happily coexist alongside substantial passages of color-choreographed together in a delicate yet intelligent dance.