Ion Țuculescu

Doctor-turned-painter of totemic eyes and folk-rug rhythms.

A physician and biologist by training, Țuculescu painted in parallel all his life. His late work explodes into totemic signs, staring eyes and patterns inspired by Oltenian rugs — a private, archetypal universe unique in postwar European painting. He was recognised mostly after his death, including at the 1966 Venice Biennale.