Zoran Mušič, 
Slovenian/Italian 1909-2005 - 
Assis Gris (or 'Uomo Grigio'), 1998; 
oil and mixed media...

Zoran Mušič, 
Slovenian/Italian 1909-2005 - 

Assis Gris (or 'Uomo Grigio'), 1998; 

oil and mixed media on canvas, signed and dated lower left 'Music 98' and signed and dated again on the reverse, titled on the stretcher 'Assis Gris', 162.5 x 114.6 cm (ARR) 

Provenance: 
with Contini Galleria d'Arte, Venice, no.98/008/0 (label attached to the reverse of the stretcher); 
Private Collection 

Note: 
in this highly moving and very personal late work, Mušič addresses the subject of aging and mortality in this monumental work. With an expressive yet economic handling of paint, the fragility of the figure speaks directly of the frailty of the human condition. In this way, the work stands alongside the most powerful figurative works of the 20th century dealing with the aging body, by artists such as Francis Bacon, Lucien Freud and the late works of Pablo Picasso. Three similar late portraits by Mušič are now in the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich, one of the UK's most important collections of Post-War figurative painting. 'Luminous Figure on a Dark Ground, 1999' shares this works approach of offsetting delicate white brushwork against an expansive grey backdrop. 

Contini Galleria d'Arte held an exhibition 'Inchiostri' devoted to similar portraits in 1998. This followed a major retrospective of his work at the Grand Palais, Paris in 1995. Mušič's works are now in major collections across the world and in 1956 he won the Grand Prix for Graphic Art at the Venice Biennale. His work was most recently the subject of an exhibition in the UK at the Estorick Collection in 2000.