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."
Voivode/prince between Ideal and Real. Chroniclers’ representations about Tara Moldova (the middle of 17th - the middle of 18th Centuries
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
The period between the middle of 17th and the middle of 18th Centuries finds Tara Moldova at the moment when the humanist elite begins to show a nation consciousness, which is a reflex of a non medieval conception. One of the problems to be solved by that time was the one of an ideal Voivode for Tara Moldova, who would create a society of wellbeing through an uncommonly perfect system. The problem was already widely discussed throughout Europe, where problems of political tyranny, relations between princes and subjects, high morality of princes were debated upon and were consequently reflected on Tara Moldova.
The image of Voivodes of Tara Moldova was examined from the point of view of contemporary people of that period, chroniclers, personalities of schools and different traditions, of a high culture, which according to their place in the society created the image of an ideal Voivode and of a one in position. The nobility prescribed numerous possibilities to be in contact with releaser factors or stimulators for changes of sensibilities or mentalities. Lecture, relations with intellectuals and foreign diplomats, trips abroad made changes in the way of feeling and thinking of nobility. The seeking of an ideal in human personality is a characteristic of baroque as life style, being an aspect which expresses the appearance of a new sensibility that intervenes in the humanity model/example. Starting with reality, cultivated men drew up an image of an ideal man, in our case of an ideal prince, whose goal was to show how it should or shouldn’t be, since it’s put into circulation this ideal image starts to influence the collective conception.
It needs to be taken into consideration the fact that Tara Moldova in the middle of 17th - the middle of 18th centuries kept on with the byzantine political tradition. According to the given conception, we’ve already noticed in the chronicles of Grigore Ureche the aspect of an ideal prince/voivode from the point of view of relations with subjects and morality as well as the prosperity of the country with some humanist influences. We will refer to the contemporary men of those times, beginning with Miron Costin, Nicolae Costin, Alexandru Amiras, Nicolae Muste which continue the tradition of the characteristic of an ideal prince image. We will not mention the views of each chronicler as a mental impression of nobility but we will try to take out from the available sources some elements of the upper class mental which reported to the conditions of the material living present themselves as significances for mental representations of the Romanian collective.
The final conclusion is: in the period between the middle of 17th - the middle of 18th century although the byzantine political legacy is maintained, the chroniclers and other contemporary men of that time have been seeking a prince who would contribute to the prosperity and the stability of the country. Noticing some tyrannical, active and inactive reigns, they tried in different ways the framing into the lit up spiritual configuration of Europe: – A specific feature of prince image was his sacralisation, not specifically in person but in the position as a bearer of supreme power of the country, the fact that still wasn’t an obstacle for the nobility to plot against princes; – The prince’s power had some limits which the chroniclers as officials of the nobility group attempted to limit by indicating some rules and manners of behaviour, obligations and responsibilities towards the society in general, and towards some social strata in particular.
Alina Felea
Some categories of epitaphs in Moldova and neighboring countries in the 17th - early 19th centuries
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Alina Felea
The institution of witnesses in wills in the Principality of Moldavia (the 17th century - beginning of the 19th century
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIX [XXXIV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie, Chişinău, 2025
Alina Felea
From family history in the Romanian space: Alcoholism and family relations in the 18th century in Moldavia and in the first decades of the 19th century in Bessarabia
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Alina Felea
Cantemir’ s wills. Case Study (XVIII - beginning XIX centuries)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Alina Felea
La population de la ville Soroca (XVI-XIX siècles)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2007
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...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.