A society undergoing radical change, its artistic life receiving new influences and establishing its new directions, an art scene able to place the artist among fashion darlings, a new music marked by Enescu’s genius… This might be the backdrop against which Romanian modern art takes shape at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.
Here are the few stops of an imaginary tour in the Romanian Modern Art Gallery:
Theodor Aman (1831 – 1891), founder of the first Romanian art schools in Jassy and Bucharest, painter and draftsman, teacher and member of the Academy, was an artist belonging to his time. His works reflect the trends in the Bucharest high society to which he himself belonged: Party with musicians, Dress Ball in the artist’s workshop, Still life with a cello, etc. (Room 1)
Also named “the painter of nature”, Ștefan Luchian (1868 – 1916) is considered a passionate master of bright bold colours seen under intense light. One day, just before his tragic death, George Enescu played for him for hours, out of respect and love for Luchian’s art. (Room 3)
Next stop: Room 5, dedicated to sculptor Dimitrie Paciurea (1873 – 1932), Romanian artist known for the mysteriousness and the forceful symbolism of his Chimeras. Looking through the series dedicated by the artist to international personalities one remarks The Bust of Beethoven. Created in 1912, it embodies, in a symbolic approach, the essential creator by excellence.
The Avant-garde reunited artists who refused tradition and tempted the re-invention of art: Marcel Ianco (1895 – 1984), Max Herman Maxy (1895 – 1971), Arthur Segal (1875 – 1944), Victor Brauner (1903 – 1966). They all did painting and sculpting, decorative art and stage design, posters and architecture. How would music be seen through the eyes of an Avant-garde artist? You can find out in the Café Concert by Marcel Ianco. (Room 6) Maybe more than anyone else, Constantin Brâncuși (1876 – 1956), through his search for essences, his volumes so synthetic, full of energy and vibration, makes one wonder: what music was Brâncuși listening to? (Room 7)
The final stage of the tour in the Romanian Modern Art Gallery (also “drawn” for you in The Concert of Paintings) is in Room 11, in front of the Feminine Nude with a Mandolin. Created in 1941 by Romanian sculptor Boris Caragea (1906 – 1982), the work reminds the Greek classic era through its subject, composition and vigor of volumes, but at the same time the creations of French sculptor Aristide Maillol (1861 – 1944). Sculptor Boris Caragea is also the author of the 1961 statue of George Enescu, now to be seen in the vicinity of the National Music University in Bucarest.
