Art for the people? - Final week !

The first major museum exhibition to address socialist realism in Romania highlights key stages in the style’s development and how they link to historical events and enables visitors to get an almost unprecedented glimpse into the visual world of the 1950s and 1960s.

Taking their clues from the Soviet propaganda machine, communist officials programmatically used visual arts to reinforce their messages, to shape the minds and perceptions of the people. Thematic compositions reflect the life of the working class and support the new ideology; how closely artists identify themselves or not with the latter is a matter of personal choice as much as it is one of aesthetics, artistry and/or craftsmanship. Do not miss this opportunity to see works by famous as well as lesser-known Romanian artists from Camil Ressu, M.H. Maxy to Ion Bitzan and Iosif Bene to name only a few.

Exhibition curator and catalogue author: Monica Enache.
Bilingual Romanian-English catalogue available at the Museum’s shop.

Open 8 December 2016 to 2 April 2017
National Gallery Wing, Calea Victoriei 49-53
Wednesday to Sunday, 10.00 – 18.00