Tomul 4 (48), 2014
DANA JENEI
The Passion, Death and Resurrection Murals Painted inside St. Matthias Church in Râşnov (1500)
Résumé
L’église paroissiale Saint-Matthias de Râșnov, une basilique romane à trois nefs et tour-clocher à l’ouest, a été construite au XIIIe siècle et modifiée successivement jusq'à la fin du XVe siècle, lorsque l’encadrement de la sacristie, avec la profilature du début de la Renaissance a été installé.
À l’intérieur, seulement l’ensemble peint en 1500 sur le mur nord du choeur, représentant le Cycle de la Passion, Mort et Résurrection du Christ est visible maintenant.
Des traces de couleur à l’extérieur ont été mentionnées par Walter Horwath en 1928, Virgil Vătăşianu en 1959 et Vasile Drăguț en 1965, l’image très endommagée représentant Jésus de l'Eucharistie étant découverte sur le nord de l’abside. Au-dessus, dans la section où le plâtre a été enlevé, un fragment de cadre d'une peinture plus tardive a apparu aussi, tandis que l'an 1594 est écrit sur la couche supérieure.
Le Cycle Pascal, comme le motif dévotionnel Vir dolorum peint avant, est lié à la présence du Saint-Sacrement dans la niche du tabernacle (remplacé en 1753 par un ex-voto), étant intégré dans le contexte plus large de la préparation liturgique, évoquant à la fois les pratiques et les croyances du courant spirituel Devotio moderna. Dix images ont été peintes symétriquement sur le mur des deux baies du choeur dont la succession n’a pas été respectée pour mettre en évidence la Cène et la Crucifixion, situés dans les tympans. La Prière dans le jardin, l’Ecce Homo, peut-être le Couronnement d’épines et la Flagellation (le dernier, dans une variante iconographique rare, inspiré par le cycle des gravures d’Allemagne du Sud, intitulé «Les sept chutes de Jésus et les sept douleurs de Marie», c. 1480), sont en grande partie couverts de chaux. Vers l’abside, se trouvent le Portement et la Descente de la Croix, la Mise au tombeau, avec l’an 1500 peint au-dessus, et la Résurrection.
L’ensemble se rattache, comme iconographie et style, à la tradition de la peinture des successeurs sud-allemands de Hans Pleydenwurff – Michael Wolgemut à Nuremberg, Wolfgang Katzheimer à Bamberg et Hans Sienbenbürger à Vienne. Le retable de Schottenstift, ouvrage de référence du dernier réalisé avec son atelier a été vraisemblablement connu par le peintre de Râșnov, qui utilise également des motifs issues directement de l’art néerlandais, et moins les sources graphiques comme les oeuvres transylvaines à dix-quinze années plus tôt, en créant des compositions originales dont, au moins, le Portement et la Descente de la Croix sont des contributions originales à la peinture européenne de cette époque de passage entre Gothique et Renaissance.
Keywords: Transylvania, Râșnov, mural painting, iconography, Passion Cycle, Late Middle Ages
ADRIAN-SILVAN IONESCU
„The City of Pleasure”: Romantic Bucharest through the 19th Century Travellers’ Eyes and Pioneer Photographers’ Lenses
Abstract
The urbanism principles and regulations were unknown before 1830s in the two Romanian Principalities, Wallachia and Moldavia. Everybody could build his house wherever he pleased. Most of the houses were surrounded by huge courtyards and always enjoyed a vegetable patch in the backyard. Most of the towns look like merely large villages. Between 1830 and 1840, foreign architects – mainly Germans, Austrians, Italians or French – flogged in and were commissioned to design the newly-founded City Halls and other grand scale buildings for public use. Most of the foreign travellers to the Romanian Principalities were astonished and at the same time captivated to see Bucharest, the capital city of Wallachia later of the realm of Romania, with its straggling streets, running from nowhere to nowhere, lacking any concept of urbanism. Even in the second half of the 19th century things had not changed much.
Photographers were also attracted to take cityscapes and to document their town at a certain time. Szathmari, Baer, Duschek, Reiser, Pesky and Spirescu were leading Bucharest photographers who took pictures on the streets or captured old monuments on their wet collodion plates. Through excerpts from travel memoirs and pictures by outstanding photographers “The City of Pleasure”, as Bucharest was called by some of its enthusiastic foreign visitors, is portrayed in its most picturesque times.
Keywords: photography, architecture, urbanism, boyars’ residences, public buildings, foreign travelers’ memoirs.
ADRIANA DUMITRAN
Arta fotografică a lui Iosif Berman (1890–1941)
Abstract
Iosif Berman was one of the most prolific and well known Romanian photojournalist in the interwar period in Romania. His work and legacy fell into oblivion after his death, in 1941. Only in the last two decades, due largely to his daughter’s efforts, his work came into light again raising the interest of the journalists, photo historians, artists and the public. He is generally known for the images of the interwar Bucharest, pictures of the political elite and members of the Romanian Royal House and pictures of the Romanian villages made during his participation as photographer at the Sociological Campaigns of Dimitrie Gusti. Scattered in numerous illustrated magazines and newspapers and in public collections lay thousands of photographs, an invitation to photo historians to analyze many other aspects of his creation. This article aims to sketch an evaluation of the artistic values of Iosif Berman photography, his relations as artist with his subjects and themes and his reflections on the world and his time.
Keywords: Iosif Berman, photojournalism, interwar Romania, photographic portraits
CARMEN BRAD
Teorii artistice chineze în perioada celor Şase Dinastii (265–589). Introducere în pictura de peisaj de Zong Bing
Abstract
The present article provides the first Romanian version of the Preface on Landscape Painting (Hua shanshui xu) by Chinese painter Zong Bing (375–443). The text, alongside other critical writings on early artistic theories in China, has reached us through the monumental Record of Famous Paintings of Successive Dynasties (Lidai minghua ji) by Zhang Yanyuan (815–875).
The essay is singular among contemporary writings in that it attempts to state, yet unsystematically and in no clearly defined terms, the basic principles of landscape painting in a period dominated by religious and narrative painting.
Not without its literary merits Zong Bing’s short essay retains an appealing archaic flavour. Philosophic tenets central to the representation of the natural world are ingeniously intertwined with comments on the importance of an accurate placing and positioning of the constituent elements of the composition, as well as with technical suggestions regarding the succession of planes on the painted surface.
The full text translation is preceded by a brief outline of the cultural and religious climate at a time of social and political upheaval witnessed by the author during his lifetime. It affords a subtler insight into his intellectual imagination which draws on the ethical and moral values of Confucianism, on the Daoist doctrines of the School of Mystery and the Buddhist concept of Pure Land.
In a simple direct style inspired by the wisdom of ancient scholars and his own experience Zong Bing provides the artist with a set of paradigmatic moral norms which establish landscape painting as an ultimate spiritual experience. Through the painted landscape the artist shares into the mystery of creation; the painting transcends its artefact status and the masterful artistic invention becomes a substitute for real nature with a meaningful spiritual component.
Zong Bing’s seminal essay sets a series of essential landmarks in landscape painting theory which will remain more or less unchanged over the centuries. His ideas will be further developed and reinterpreted by his followers, in keeping with the preeminent role which landscape will come to play in Chinese painting.
Keywords: China, painting, artistic theories, Zong Bing, Six Dinasties
GABRIEL BADEA-PĂUN
În căutarea unei colecţii pierdute – Colecţia lui Mihail Kogălniceanu
Résumé
La collection de peinture ancienne et moderne de Mihail Kogălniceanu fut, après celle de la famille royale, la plus importante collection d’art dans la Roumanie de la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle. Elle était riche de plusieurs centaines d’oeuvres, dont des tableaux signés ou attribués à Altdorfer, Bassano, Bellini, Blomaert, Bol, Boucher, Cranach l’Ancien, Fragonard, Hals, Jordaens, Mignard, Poussin, Reni, Rubens, Ruysdael, Tiepolo, Titien, Veronese, Zeitblom, ainsi que des oeuvres des petits maîtres allemands et autrichiens contemporains, tels W. von Kaulbach, Makart. Exposée du vivant de son créateur dans une pinacothèque voisinant sa demeure, elle fut proposée pour acquisition à l’Etat, mais, devant le refus du gouvernement libéral de D. A. Sturdza, elle fut finalement vendue lors de trois vacations le 9–10 XII 1887 par la Maison Heberle de Cologne (188 oeuvres) et ensuite le 1 IV 1896 et en mars 1897 à Bucarest.
Notre étude basée sur les riches archives de Kogălniceanu et sur le catalogue de la vente Heberle tente de présenter la genèse de la collection et ses oeuvres les plus importantes.
Keywords: Kogălniceanu; ancient painting; 19th Century painting; 19th Century collection; Bellini-Makart-Zeitblom-Heberle
DOINA LEMNY
„Est-ce une femme ou un oeuf?”, la participation remarquée de Brancusi à l’Armory Show
Résumé
«Is she a Lady or an Egg?», titrait avec provocation la presse américaine, en s’interrogeant sur une des cinq sculptures de Brancusi présentées dans l’exposition de l’Armory Show, en 1913: Le Baiser, 1907–08, plâtre, Muse endormie, 1910, plâtre, Une Muse, 1912, plâtre, Mlle Pogany I, 1913, plâtre, Torse de femme, 1912, marbre, cette dernière prêtée par Arthur B. Davies seulement à New York.
Keywords: Brancusi, Armory Show, le Baiser, Une Muse, Pogany
NOTE ŞI DOCUMENTE
MIHAI SORIN RĂDULESCU
În jurul genealogiei lui Barbu Brezianu (I)
Résumé
L’article présente l’ascendance du feu historien de l’art Barbu Brezianu (1909–2008), petit-fils du commandant Eftimie Ulescu, participant à la Guerre d’Indépendance de 1877–1878, et arrière-petit-fils du colonel Istrate Sămeşescu, ministre de la Guerre en 1862. Par les femmes, Barbu Brezianu descendait des familles Hinna, Ullescu, Grădişteanu (du district de Prahova, une autre famille que celle originaire du village de Grădiştea, dans le district d’Ilfov) et Bosianu. Ses ancêtres étaient pour la plupart des Roumains, mais il y avait également des Grecs dans son ascendance.
La filiation de la famille Brezianu remonte au «polcovnic» (colonel) Constantin Brezianu de Fefelei (aujourd’hui englobé dans la ville de Mizil, dans le district de Prahova). Son fils, Mareş Brezianu, a eu à son tour comme fils Vasile Mareş Brezianu, grand-père du côté paternel de l’historien de l’art et poète Barbu Brezianu. Une autre branche intéressante de la famille Brezianu descendait du «pitar» Iancu Brezianu, un autre fils de Mareş Brezianu.
Sa première épouse, Adina Assan, était la fille de Basil G. Assan, l’un des héritiers du moulin à vapeurs Assan de Bucarest, voyageur autour du monde et publiciste. Sa seconde épouse, Irina Fortunescu, était la nièce du professeur C. D. Fortunescu, l’un des fondateurs de la prestigieuse revue Arhivele Olteniei.
Keywords: Brezianu, Ullescu, Sămeşescu, Hinna, Bozianu, Assan, genealogy, family, art historian, Brâncuşi
ALIN CIUPALĂ
Testamentul academicianului George Oprescu, întemeietorul Institutului de Istoria Artei al Academiei Române
Abstract
The present published material completes the biography of the Romanian savant George Oprescu. The act shows us the manner in which the academician related to his work, the way in which he chose to ensure the posterity of his collections, rich library and documentary archive. The pages of his will speak to us also about a personality’s generosity who proved to be until today an example of rigorousness, scientific audacity and altruism.
Keywords: George Oprescu, will, collections, assistants, Romanian Academy
ARHIVA
IOANA IANCOVESCU
Biserica domnească din Târgovişte. Pictura de secol XVI
ECATERINA CINCHEZA-BUCULEI
Pictura pronaosului bisericii Mănăstirii Humor
CRONICA ŞI VIAŢA ŞTIINŢIFICĂ
Expoziţia George Catlin, American Indian Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, London și Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, 12 iulie – 13 oct. 2013 (Adrian-Silvan Ionescu), p. 219
Expoziţia Indiens des Plaines, Paris, Musée du Quai Branly, 8–20 iulie 2014 (Adrian-Silvan Ionescu), p. 223
Două expoziţii retrospective Iosif Berman, Bucureşti, Muzeul Naţional Cotroceni, 25 sept. – 25 oct. 2013; Biblioteca Naţională a României, 23 oct. 2013 – 31 ian. 2014 (Adrian-Silvan Ionescu), p. 228
Retrospectiva Joseph O’Sickey, Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio, 2 mai – 22 iulie 2013 (Adrian-Silvan Ionescu), p. 231
Expoziţia Studiile de atelier la Şcoala de Belle Arte, Biblioteca Academiei Române, 5–25 mai 2014 (Adrian-Silvan Ionescu), p. 233
Conferinţa naţională 150 de ani de învăţământ naţional şi Academia Română, Bucureşti, Academia Română, 5–6 mai 2014 (Virginia Barbu și Ruxanda Beldiman), p. 238
Paul Vasilescu (1936–2012), expoziţie de sculptură, Bucureşti, Galeria Simeza, mai 2014 (Ioana Vlasiu), p. 240
Expozitia Haina îl face pe om. Şase secole de istorie vestimentară, Muzeul Naţional de Istorie a României, 15 mai – 24 august 2014 (Adrian-Silvan Ionescu), p. 242
Epoca Biedermeier în Țările Române (1815–1859), Muzeul Naţional de Artă, Bucureşti, 6 decembrie 2013 – 27 aprilie 2014 (Ioana Vlasiu), p. 249
Expoziţia Truth and Memory, Imperial War Museum, Londra, 19 iulie 2014 – 8 martie 2014 (Adrian-Silvan Ionescu), p. 250
Expoziţia Lee Miller: A Romanian Rhapsody, Centrul Cultural Românesc/Fundaţia Raţiu, Londra, 10 iulie – 17 august 2014 (Adrian-Silvan Ionescu), p. 255
Simpozionul Symbolisme et esthétique modernes dans les Balkans. Réexamen(s) critique(s), Paris, Sorbonne, 8–9 noiembrie 2013 (Corina Teacă), p. 262
Întâlnirile de miercuri, Bucureşti, Institutul de Istoria Artei „G. Oprescu” (Alin Ciupală), p. 262
RECENZII
WOLFGANG STEINER, Hinterglas und Kupferstich – Hinterglasgemälde und ihre Vorlagen 1550–1850, Hirmer Verlag, München, 2004, 272 p. + 277 ilustrații (Diana Iuliana Barbu), p. 265
ALEXANDRU PĂCURAR, Incursiune în memoria locurilor, Presa Universitară Clujeană, Cluj, 2007 (232 p., 196 ilustraţii, 1 hartă hors-texte în culori), bibliografie (216 titluri) (Horia Vl. Şerbănescu), p. 266
CONSTANTIN PRUT, Olga Smolenschi. Revelaţiile unui sculptor, Editura Magic Print, Onești, 2013, 90 p. (Alin Ciupală), p. 267
ADAM BĂLȚATU, Voiam să fiu pictor... Însemnări, ediție îngrijită și prefață de Doina Lemny, Editura Junimea, Iași, 2014, 120 p. (Alin Ciupală), p. 268
RUXANDA BELDIMAN, MIRCEA HORTOPAN, NARCIS DORIN ION, SORIN VASILESCU, Arhitectul ceh al Casei Regale a României Karel Zdeněk Líman/The Czech Architect to the Romanian Royal Court, București, Iglooprofil, 2013, 240 p. (Alin Ciupală), p. 269
CĂTĂLIN BĂLESCU, EUGEN ALEXANDRU GUSTEA, ADRIAN GUȚĂ (coordonatori), Universitatea Naţională de Arte din Bucureşti, 150 de ani, Editura UNARTE, București, 2014, 314 p. + il. (Adrian-Silvan Ionescu), p. 270
OLIVIA NIȚIŞ, Istorii marginale ale artei feministe. Moştenirea vestică în Europa centrală, estică şi de sud-est: influenţe şi diferenţe, Editura UNARTE, București, 2014, 314 p. + il. (Alin Ciupală), p. 272
ADRIAN-SILVAN IONESCU (editor), Szathmári: Pionier al fotografiei şi contemporanii săi/Pioneering photographer and his contemporaries, Editura Oscar Print, Bucureşti, 2014, 300 p. + il. + DVD (Adriana Dumitran), p. 272
PAUL REZEANU, Istoria artelor plastice în Oltenia (1800–2000), vol. II (1919–2000), Editura Alma,
Craiova, 2013, 475 p. + il. (Adrian-Silvan Ionescu), p. 275
REVISTA REVISTELOR
Ars Transsilvaniae, XXII/2012 (Dana Jenei), p. 279
De libris. Buletin bibliografic (2009-2014) (V. Barbu, A.S. Ionescu), p. 281
IN MEMORIAM
O viaţă dăruită: Ioana Cristache-Panait (1932–2014) (autor: Tereza Sinigalia), p. 287
Dan Hăulică: o eminentă personalitate a culturii române contemporane (autor: Valeriu Râpeanu), p. 289
Dan Hăulică (7 februarie 1932 – 17 august 2014) (autor: Adrian-Silvan Ionescu), p. 291