Culture, Art, Spirit

Fine Arts

The scope and brilliancy of the frescoes at the monasteries of Voronet, Moldovita, Sucevita, Arbore, Humor, or Patrauti made the great Byzantine culture scholar André Grabar consider this artistic phenomenon "an illustrated book open on all its pages".

Preserving the ties with the Byzantine stock, the culture of the Modern Age manifests an increasing tendency to follow the European artistic movements which send in turn echoes of the Renaissance, Romanticist, Academist, or Impressionistic trends.

Nicolae Grigorescu and Ion Andreescu worked for a time at Barbizon, alongside the artists who pioneered the Impressionist movement. These two painters and Stefan Luchian - who contributes elements akin to Art Nouveau and expressionism - are the founders of modern Romanian painting.

They will be followed, in the first half of the 20th century, by great personalities who opened as many new vistas in Romanian painting. Having made their debut before World War II, several artists also continue their activity in the following decades, succeeding - despite all adversities in the postwar totalitarian period - to enhance the substance of the national artistic heritage: Ion Tuculescu, Henri Catargi, Alexandru Ciucurencu, Margareta Sterian, Corneliu Baba.

Constantin Brancusi, the man who initiated the restructuring of the world's sculptural language in this century, has marked modern Romanian sculpture.

If Brancusi revitalized the abstract expression of archaic art, Dimitrie Paciurea heads for those figurative and fantastic mythological representations that have functions in the old symbolical repertories but which still prove to be pertinent.

With Gheorghe D. Anghel, Romanian 20th century sculpture regains the purity and severity of the Byzantine form, controlled by a spirit fed on classical ideals.

In painting, in the last decades, new generations have asserted themselves, who relate creatively to the values of our heritage. There are remarkable personalities, such as Octav Grigorescu, Florin Niculiu, Georgeta Naparus and Ion Bitzan, who have passed away recently, artists like Horia Bernea, Ion Nicodim, Ion Pacea, Viorel Marginean, Gheorghe Saru, Sorin Ilfoveanu, Florica Cercel, Petru Lucaci, Ioana Batranu.

The post-modernist generation, asserted in the 80s, includes several remarkable artists: Marilena Preda-Sanc, Teodor Graur, Dan Mihaltianu, Al. Patapici, Iosif Kiraly, Dorel Gaina, Radu Igoszag.

The directions restored in postwar sculpture notably in the '60s are based on the trail blazed by Brancusi between folk art and the modern plastic thought.

This is confirmed by the works of George Apostu, Ovidiu Maitec, Gheorghe Iliescu-Calinesti, Victor Gaga, Mihai Buculei, Napoleon Tiron.

In the '70s there began the "sculpture camps" which became genuine open-air museums at: Magura Buzaului, Cascioarele, Arcus, Galati, Buteni etc.

Books

The museums of the monasteries in Romania preserve most valuable illuminated manuscripts in the Slavonic, Greek and Romanian languages.

In the first decades of the 14th century printing presses begin to function in Bucharest, Targoviste, Brasov, Iasi, Alba Iulia, Ramnic, Buzau, Blaj.

A sustained activity of printing texts in the Romanian language began in 1559 when Deacon Coresi prints "Catehismul" at his own printing house in Brasov. There follows the Tetraevanghel (The Gospels) in 1561, "Apostolul" in 1563, "Liturghierul" and "Psaltirea" in 1570, "Evanghelia cu Invataturi" in 1581, "Palia de la Orastie" (Old Testament) in 1582.

"Divanul Inteleptului cu lumea" (The World's Parley with the Wise Man, 1688), a book of philosophical essays by Dimitrie Cantemir, "Capetele de porunca" (Statutes 1714), a textbook of civil law written by Metropolitan Antim Ivireanul, "Jurnalul de calatorie in China" (Traveller's Notes from China, 3 volumes, 1675-1678) by Nicolae Milescu, "Fiziologul" (Physiologus, 1693), a popular textbook of zoology translated by Costea Dascalul of Scheii Brasovului, "Istoria politica si geografica a Tarilor Romanesti" (The Political and Geographical History of the Romanian Countries, 1688-1695), by Constantin Cantacuzino are some of the bibliophile values of the old Romanian book heritage.

Literature

The literary works configuring a first stage in the evolution of the Romanian modern literature belong to a generation of writers in the fifth decade of the last century, during a historical epoch marked by social and political changes determined by the 1848 revolutions: Vasile Alecsandri (1818-1890), Mihail Kogalniceanu (1817-1891), Alecu Russo (1819-1859), Nicolae Balcescu (1819-1852), Dimitrie Bolintineanu (1825-1872), Gheorghe Baritiu (1812-1893), Ion Ghica (1816-1897).

The second half of the 19th century represented a peak moment on a literary level. It was the epoch of the great classic authors of the Romanian literature: Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889), the national poet, Ion Creanga (1839-1889) and Ioan Slavici (1848-1925), prose writers, I.L. Caragiale (1852-1912), playwright, Alexandru Macedonski (1854-1920), poet, Titu Maiorescu (1840-1917), aesthetician, literary critic, and cultural mentor.

In the 20th century, until the setting up of communism, after the coup d'état of August 1944, the Romanian literature had known an ascending evolution, the climax of which was the brilliant generation of inter-bella writers: Mihail Sadoveanu (1880-1961), Liviu Rebreanu (1885-1944), Lucian Blaga (1895-1961), Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu (1876-1955), Camil Petrescu (1894-1957) a.o.

In the 60s, a new generation of good writers appeared, whose names stood up as solid foundations of the contemporary Romanian literature: Marin Preda (1922-1981), Emil Botta (1912-1977), Nichita Stanescu (1933-1983), Nicolae Breban (1934), Augustin Buzura (1938), D.R. Popescu (1935), Ion Alexandru (1941-2000) a.o.

The books in the languages of the ethnic minorities are published by several publishing houses Kriterion, in Bucharest, and Dacia of Cluj-Napoca (Hungarian and German).

Theatre

1817 marked the opening of the Oravita Theatre, the first in the Romanian language, while in 1818 the Arad Theatre had its premiere.

The Literary Society, established in 1927, gave a strong impetus to theatrical life in Bucharest. Its masterminds set up the School of Dramatic Art and gave daily performances.

In 1836 the Philharmonic-Drama Conservatory of Iasi was founded.

In 1848 the Iasi Theatre was established and in 1852 the Bucharest Theatre, with a capacity of 1,000 seats.

Prose writer and playwright Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912) further consolidated the foundations of the Romanian theatre.

In the first decades of activity of the National Theatre several actors gave memorable performances, going down in the history of Romanian theatrical performance: Grigore Manolescu, Stefan Iulian, Aristizza Romanescu, C.I. Nottara, Aristide Demetriad, Ion Brezeanu.

The pace of Romanian drama was further enhanced in the period between the two world wars. Grave problems of human existence were contemplated and treated philosophically. The most representatives playwrights of that period are Camil Petrescu (1894-1957), Lucian Blaga (1895-1961), Victor Eftimiu (1889-1972), Mihail Sebastian (1907-1945), Victor Ion Popa (1895-1946) and Tudor Musatescu (1903-1970).

Contemporary Romanian theatre has important authors, such as: Horia Lovinescu, Teodor Mazilu, D.R. Popescu, Marin Sorescu, Tudor Popescu, Iosif Naghiu, Matei Visniec.

Among the most important theatre directors there are, after the forerunners Sica Alexandrescu and Ion Sava, Liviu Ciulei, Lucian Pintilie, Ion Cojar, Silviu Purcarete, Catalina Buzoianu, many of them known outside Romania.

Music

The times that came after the Union of the Romanian Principalities (1859) and the state independence (1877) witnessed a cultural upsurge. The first Conservatories were set up in Iasi (1860) and Bucharest (1864) and then the Romanian Philharmonic Society was created (1868).

With folklore as a source of inspiration, composers like Alexandru Flechtenmacher, Eduard Caudella, Gavriil Musicescu, Ciprian Porumbescu and Gheorghe Dima composed choral and vocal-instrumental music, opera, operetta and vaudeville. The work and activity of these founders of the professional Romanian music mark the birth and assertion of the national music school and herald the rise of a genius: George Enescu (1881-1955), whose creation covers several historical stage in the development of music and raises the value of modern Romanian music to the level of world art.

Enescu's generation was also marked by other names such as D.G. Kiriac, Sabin Dragoi, Dimitrie Cuclin, Martian Negrea, Mihail Jora, Al. Zirra, Paul Constantinescu, Tiberiu Brediceanu.

In the last decades we have also had a remarkable generation of conductors and soloists.

Motion Pictures

In 1896, in Bucharest, at the headquarters of L'Indépendence Roumaine daily the first films by the brothers Lumière were shown.

In 1902, a Romanian photographer, Paul Menu, achieves the first newsreel shot in Bucharest with a Lumière camera.

The founder of the Romanian cartoon school, Ion Popescu-Gopo, makes his debut in 1951. With his Short History Gopo wins, in 1957, the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Festival. 1959 is the year when the Film Studios at Buftea open. In 1961 the famous director Liviu Ciulei makes his debut with The Waves of the Danube which wins the Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary festival.

In 1965 Liviu Ciulei's The Forest of the Hanged is awarded the best-director prize at the Cannes Festival. This is the time when a generation of good directors assert themselves gradually: Iulian Mihu, Manole Marcus, Malvina Ursianu, Gheorghe Vitanidis, Andrei Blaier, Mircea Daneliuc, Doru Nastase, Constantin Vaeni, Stere Gulea, Alexa Visarion, Serban Marinescu, Dan Pita.

The best films of the last five years are: The Oak Tree, Unforgettable Summer and Too Late (1996) by Lucian Pintilie, The Eleventh Commandment, The Conjugal Bed, Fed Up, The Snails' Senator by Mircea Daneliuc, Hotel de luxe (awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Festival, 1992), Pepe and Fifi by Dan Pita and Man of the Day-opening in 1997, by Dan Pita, State of Fact by Stere Gulea, the Old Court Philanderers and Woman in Red by Mircea Veroiu.

Source: MIP