#Exhibit of the Month

To mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși, 2026 was declared by the President of Romania the Year of Constantin Brâncuși. Constantin Brâncuși, one of the greatest sculptors of the twentieth century, was born in 1876 in Hobița, Gorj County, and passed away in 1957 in Paris; he was buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery. In 1904 he arrived in Paris, where he attended courses at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. There he also worked in the studio of Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), the founder of modern sculpture, and met Amadeo Modigliani (1884-1920), the Italian sculptor settled in France. Inspired by the work of these artists, he perfected his artistic training in Paris. His works are held in museums both at home and abroad, in the Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries, France, and the United States of America. For his outstanding merits he was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania in 1923; in 1931 Nicolae Iorga proposed him for the Order of Cultural Merit; and only in 1990 was he posthumously elected a member of the Romanian Academy.
One of the artist's most famous creations is the sculpture Mademoiselle Pogany, considered a national symbol of modern Romanian art. Its protagonist was Margaret Pogany (1879-1964), a young Hungarian painter who came to Paris in 1909 to study painting techniques. Visiting her studio, she asked the sculptor to make her portrait, even leaving him a photograph and a self-portrait. In 1911 Brâncuși sculpted her likeness from memory in marble and in bronze, focusing on the deep, large, almond-shaped eyes, the subdued eyebrows, the narrow nose, the small mouth, the austere hairstyle and the modest gesture of the hands, rested against the face. Between 1912 and 1933 he produced nineteen versions of Mademoiselle Pogany.

The commemorative medal "Constantin Brâncuși (1876-1976). Expoziție Filatelică Omagială - București 1976" was struck in Romania at the State Mint by the engraver Ștefan Grudinschi. Executed in bronze with a diameter of 60 mm and a weight of 113.73 g, the medal is remarkable for its memorial and artistic value. Obverse: the sculptor's bust facing left, with the semicircular legend "CONSTANTIN BRÂNCUȘI - 1876-1976." Reverse: a fragment of the triptych The Gate of the Kiss. Semicircular legend: "EXPOZIȚIA FILATELICĂ OMAGIALĂ - BUCUREȘTI 1976."
The medal "Constantin Brâncuși. Mademoiselle Pogany. Craiova Art Museum. 1987" was also executed in bronze at the State Mint (Bucharest); it has a nominal diameter of 60 mm (because of the circular cutting the actual dimensions are D: 45 mm; weight: 53.55 g). The obverse shows, in the central field, an image of the Craiova Art Museum framed by the semicircular legend "MUZEUL DE ARTĂ - CRAIOVA / 1987." The reverse depicts a replica of the sculpture Mademoiselle Pogany made by Brâncuși's pupil O. Moșescu, accompanied by the inscription "CONSTANTIN BRÂNCUȘI - M-elle POGANY / 1913."

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Publications

Journal „Tyragetia"

vol. X [XXV], nr. 1

Paleo-Christian churches in the Romanian area in the early Middle Ages

ISSN 1857-0240
E-ISSN 2537-6330

Vlad D. Ghimpu

Paleo-Christian churches in the Romanian area in the early Middle Ages

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică

Keywords: places of worship, Christianity, early Middle Ages, Romanian space.

Abstract: Based on the research of many rock-hewn churches of the Romanian region, located in the Dobruja and around the Carpathian mountain range, the author notes the existence there of a number of Christian churches belonging to the early Christian period and the early Middle Ages. According to the author, the religious buildings were created for the most part of very strong material because of the highly volatile external environment, due to the pressure of the migratory and nomadic peoples. On the basis of new archaeological data it can be argued that in the territory of the future Moldova there was a diocese under the guidance of a chorbishop (bishop of rural settlements). The presence and discovery of a very valuable exhibit, which is a rare example of art, iconography and folklore heritage of Romanians in early Middle Ages (red brick with depictions), gives us the first written evidence of the presence of Christianity in this area.

List of illustrations:
Fig. 1. Plan of the Syrian Rite Church in Callatis (after Theodorescu 1963).
Fig. 2. Plan of a stone structure in Sobari (after Niculiță, Popa 2000).
Fig. 3. Stone structure in Sobari (after Popa 2001).
Fig. 4. Brick with depicted lines from Sobari. Photo.
Fig. 5. Brick with depicted lines from Sobari. Drawing.
Fig. 6. Plan of the Limanu Cave, Constanța County (after Păun 2000).
Fig. 7. Cave of St. Andrew the Apostle (after Păun 2000).
Fig. 8. The Ovidenia Cave Church of the Bistrița Monastery (after Păun 2000).
Fig. 9. The church of Bechir's Cave near Soroca.
Fig. 10. Plan of Daniil the Hermit's cave church (after Păun 2000).
Fig. 11. Cetățuia Negru-Vodă Cave Church (after Păun 2000).
Fig. 12. Butuceni cave complex (Old Orhei) (after Ghid 1998).