George Ştefănescu
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George Ştefănescu (born 1914) is a contemporary Romanian painter. Since 1989 he has lived in Lüdinghausen Germany.
His works are in private collections in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Israel, Japan, Canada, Cuba, Lebanon, Mexico, Austria, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA.
Radu Carneci wrote of him in 1984:
George Ştefănescu is a great colorist who dares bring together intense colours, as though recalling the fauvistes' age. He does it with a secret harmony descended from both the knowledge of the graphics' progress and from the inheritance creatively used, of painting on glass and other folk Romanian arts.
Thus, the painter has reached a synthesis of the artistic work, with the colour, though important as it is, left in the second plane, meant to support and illustrate the idea.
In this case, the colour plays the same part as with flowers – luring us so that we may better feel their essences, their fragrance. [1]
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Ştefănescu was born in 1914 in the commune of Plăineşti (now Dumbrăveni), between the cities of Focşani and Râmnicu Sărat. His father Gheorghe was descended from a Macedonian family from Bitola, Macedonia. His mother, Sanda, born Căţănaru, was originally from the commune of Crucea de Jos, Vrancea County. From 1926 to 1933 he attended the secondary school in Râmnicu Sărat. His art teacher recommended him to the church painter Constantinescu and he became the latter's apprentice after school. In 1933, after receiving his baccalaureate, he moved to Bucharest. He took lessons with the painter Ion Theodorescu-Sion, a noted personality in the Romanian art world, for the entrance examination of the Academy of Creative Arts. From 1933 to 1936 he studied at the Academy of Creative Arts in Bucharest in the class of the painter Nicolae Dărăscu.
In 1936, he had his first solo exhibition in a Bucharest art gallery, and also took a study trip to Vrancea and Balcic. In 1937 he attended artillery officer's school, had an exhibition in Craiova with the writer Ion Ionescu; the latter presented his novel Oameni cu buche ("Men with books" / "Literate men"). That year, he also began to sketch designs for women's clothing and fashion accessories for a Bucharest fashion house. He worked for the construction company SONACO, became a member of Sindicatul Artistilor din România (the Union of Romanian Artists, which included painters, sculptors and graphic artists) and because a student at the well-known private art seminar "Zapan". His professors there were well-known painters such as Lucian Grigorescu, Platon Cazanovici and Mihail Gheorghita.
In 1938, together with the fresco painter Alexandru Mazilescu (now, in 2006, living in the United States) he worked painting murals. In Bukovina, he had the opportunity to observe the well-known wall paintings of the painted monasteries. From 1939 to 1945 he served in the Romanian military during World War II, with a corps that advanced as far as Crimea. During the Axis retreat, his horse stepped on a mine, which exploded, killing the horse, and leaving him with a serious head wound that, for over a decade, left him unable to distinguish colors, which mean that he could not paint and had to seek other work. In 1945 he participated in seminars in theatre directing and set design at ARLUS, led by Professor Ion Sava.
In 1946–1947 he was employed at the film production company Filmul Popular, who had a laboratory in Bucharest on Strada Scaune. He worked with some Hungarian specialists to modernize this film laboratory, eventually becoming head of the laboratory. As a result, he was assigned to modernize a film laboratory in Mogoşoaia, owned by the National Tourism Office (Oficiul National de Turism, ONT). The Mogoşoaia laboratory had been wrecked in the bombardament toward the end of the War. This time, he had to do the job without professional Hungarian help.
During his time at the ONT laboratory (1948–1951), he also founded his own advertising studio for the film industry.
In 1951–1955, Ştefănescu worked for the state ministry of electrical power, as director of the electro chain stores of the country. In 1956, though, he started his own design studio in Bucharest. Around 1957, his health stabilized, and under the encouragement of the painter Nicolae Darascu, his former professor and later friend, he began again to paint. In summer 1957, he resumed painting landscapes near Bucharest (Cernica, Pasărea, Băneasa, Mogoşoaia).
[edit] Municipal Theater Bucharest
In 1958 he took a position as production director at the Lucia Sturdza Bulandra Municipal Theater (now Bulandra Theatre) in Bucharest and became a member of the Union of Creative Artists of Romania (Uniunea Artistilor Plastici din România, UAP). The director of the theater, the actress Lucia Sturdza Bulandra, Grande Dame of the Bucharest theatre at this time, knew him as a student of Ion Sava, a theatre professor teaching directing and set design, and in 1959 gave him the order for the stage design for the drama Când vei fi întrebat ("When You'll Be Asked") of the playwright Dorel Dorian. Ştefănescu created the decor and costumes. That year, he also took a study trip to Timişoara and surrounding areas in western Romania, where he painted mostly landscapes and portraits of farmer.
In 1960 he was commissioned to execute a portrait of Tony Bulandra, husband of Lucia Sturdza Bulandra and probably Romania's best known actor at the time, for the museum of the National Theater Bucharest. He also did set design and costumes for the play Mamouret by Jean Sermet and toured with the Bulandra company to Budapest and elsewhere in Hungary, after which he stayed on another month in Budapest to settle tour matters. He took the opportunity to paint oil and watercolor paintings, to draw, and to befriend Hungarian painters. After his return to Bucharest, these works were exhibited in Bucharest in the hall of the Sala Izvor, the main hall of the Bulandra Theatre.
[edit] Ştefănescu's studio
In 1961, Ştefănescu did set design and costumes for Mihail Beniuc's play Întoarcerea ("The Return"). The UAP granted him his own studio in the Gheorghe Tattarescu Memorial Museum, and he had another solo exhibition at the the Sala Izvor. The following year, he did stage design and costumes for A. I. Ştefănescu's (no relation) inquisitorial courtroom drama Camera fierbinte ("The hot room" or "The hot chamber") and had another solo exhibition in the theater, exhibiting stage settings, blueprints of costumes, oil paintings, watercolors and drawings.
Misu Weinberg, one of Romania's most influential art collectors visited Ştefănescu's studio, beginning a fruitful relationship that lasted until Weinberg's death. Weinberg displayed Ştefănescu's works in the company of works by such Romanian masters as Theodor Pallady, Gheorghe Petrascu, Iser and others, raising Ştefănescu's visibility among collectors, many of whom Weinberg accompanied to Ştefănescu's studio.
In 1963, Ştefănescu continued his set design and costume work with Război şi pace (War and Peace) by Alfred Neumann, Erwin Piseator, and Guntram Prüfer, based on the Tolstoy novel. This production was the first in Romania to combine traditional stage settings with the photographic slide projection. The same year, he also designed sets for the Portretul (The Portrait) by Alexandru Voitin, and took a study trip to the Black Sea coast near Tuzla. In 1964, he participated in the biennial stage design salon in Bucharest and executed stage setting blueprints for the play "Fii cuminte Cristofor ("Behave, Christopher") by Aurel Baranga.
In 1965, he participated in the annual salon of the creative arts sponsored by the City of Bucharest and had a solo exhibition at the Gheorghe Tattarescu Museum. The exhibition catalogue had a foreword by Nestor Ignat and text by Misu Weinberg. That year, he also made a study visit to Sighişoara, followed by further travel the next year to the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, where he painted many watercolors and to the Danube Delta and to the Romanian Black Sea coast.
In 1967, he returned to stage and costume design, for the play Poetul şi revoluţia ("The Poet and the Revolution") about Vladimir Mayakovsky, script by Valeriu Moisescu and Dinu Negreanu. He also did stage design for Luceafărul (The Morning Star) by Barbu Ştefănescu Delavrancea, and staged it again as an open air sound and light show at the Mogoşoaia Palace. In May 1967, he participated in the spring salon of the City of Bucharest in Herăstrău Park. Later that year he paid working visits to the Danube Delta and to Sibiu.
In 1968 May 1968, Ştefănescu had a solo exhibition of oil and watercolour paintings in the exhibition room of the Gheorghe Tattarescu Museum, with the texts of the exhibition catalogue written by Florin Colonaş. Around this time, Ştefănescu's paintings first show the egg-shaped elements that soon became a significant characteristic of his painting. His paintings drew the attention of the "pope" among the Romanian art critics, Professor Petru Comarnescu. He also continued his stage design and costumes, for the play Sfârşitul pământului (The End of the World) by Victor Eftimiu.
He participated in the 1969 City of Bucharest salon of the creative arts, and designed stage costumes for the Bulandra Theatre's production of Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen.[2]. He participated in the December 1969 – February 1970 exhibition "Art roumain contemporain" in the gallery Baccache in Beirut, Lebanon and paid a study visit to Braşov.
[edit] The 1970s
1970 Sole exhibition Gallery Simeza in Bucharest. Stage design and costumes for the play Puricele în ureche (The Flea in the Ear) by Georges Feydeau / stage design by Liviu Ciulei. Stage design for the play Contrapuncte (Counterpoints) by Paul Everac. Costume design for the film Pădurea spânzuraţilor (The Forest of the Hanged) directed by Liviu Ciulei. Touring exhibition, "Romanian Art", in Lüdenscheid/Germany, Orly/France, Vienna/Austria and Watts-Art Gallery in New York USA. Study visit to Sibiu and Sighisoara. 1971 Salon of the creating arts in the Romanian Atheneum / Bucharest.
1972 Creative arts salon in the Dalles Gallery, Bucharest. Stage design and costumes for the play Patru oameni fără nume (Four Nameless Men) by Radu Bădilă. Stage costumes for the play Povestiri din pădurea vieneză (Stories from the Vienna Forest) by Ödön von Horvath directed by Al.Toscani. [3]
1973 Sole exhibition Gallery Simeza in Bucharest. Foreword of the exhibition catalogue: Traian Stoica. Awarded the Meritul cultural order.1974 Stage design for the play Între noi nu a fost decât tăcerea – (Between Us There Has Been Only Silence) by Lia Crişan. Ends his theater activities and devotes himself to his painting art. Salon for the creating arts in the Gallery Dalles. 1975 Participation in the exhibition 12 Rumänische Maler ("12 Romanian Painters") in Hamburg.
His studio becomes a meeting place for artists, critics and collectors . Study journey to Czechoslovakia. Study visit to Medias and Bazna. 1976 Sole exhibition in the Gallery Căminul Artei Bucharest. Texts of critics by Dan Grigorescu and Virgil Mocanu. Study visit to Breaza, a health resort preferred by painters. 1977 – 1978 Study visit to Bazna, Buziaş and Covasna. Prepares a large exhibition.
1979 Salon for the creating arts by the City of Bucharest in the Gallery Dalles. Solo exhibition in the Art Gallery of the City of Bucharest, "Galeriile de Artă ale Municipiului Bucureşti". Exhibition catalogue with a foreword by the university professor of arts Dan Grigorescu, who delivers the opening speech. Participation in the Contemporary East European Paintings exhibition in Tokyo. [4]
[edit] The 1980s
1980 Salon for the creating arts by the City of Bucharest in the Gallery Dalles. Study visit to Covasna.
1981 – 1982 Study visit to Covasna, Azuga and Bistriţa-Năsăud County. 1983 Solo exhibition in the Art Gallery of the City of Bucharest, "Galeriile de Artă ale Municipiului Bucureşti". Texts in the exhibition catalogue: Gheorghe Cosma, a museum expert, and the poet and journalist Radu Carneci. 1984 Sole exhibition in Willebroek – Belgium and Werdohl – former West-Germany. [5].
1985 Solo exhibition at the Hagenring – Gallery in Hagen – former West-Germany . 1987 The Meridiane publishing house publishes an art monograph within the series "Romanian Painters". The texts are written by the art historian Adriana Bobu (living in Paris). A report by the art expert Constanţa Iliescu concerning his painting The dancers was published in the trade press in the series of articles "Comori de Artă ale Capitalei" ("Art treasures of the Capital"). In a magazine on Romania in Chinese several pages are being dedicated to his painting. 1988 In the trade magazine ARTA the art critic Theodor Redlow dedicates several pages to Ştefănescu including colour pictures of his work. [6]
[edit] Life in Germany
1989 Stefanescu moves to Germany. Exhibitions in Harsewinkel and Ennepetal. Opening speech by the art critic Hermann Hirschberg.
1990 Exhibition in Bremen in the Gallery Helmar H.Veltzke. Introduction by journalist and art historian Hans Peter Labonte. In Romania the book Mărturisiri şi reflecţii ale unui colecţionar de arta by the writer and art lover Dorina Munteanu is published reporting over all modern classical Romanian painters. Exhibition in the GALERIA Art Gallery in Bremen. The exhibition "George Ştefănescu – Neue Wege – Neue Bilder" in the Queens Hotel in Bremen. Texts by Hans Peter Labonte. Dec. – The exhibition "Vater und Sohn im Spiegel der Kunst" in Lüdinghausen. Introduction : Dr.Jenny Sarrazin , official responsible for cultural affairs in the district of Coesfeld.
1991 Participation in the exhibition "9 Künstler aus Lüdinghausen" in the Castle Burg Vischering in Lüdinghausen. Foreword in the exhibition catalogue: Dr.Falco Herleman.[7] 1992 Dülmen: Exhibition "Neue Wege – Neue Bilder". Bocholt and Ahaus exhibition with the Hamalandkreis.1994 - 1995 Sole exhibition : private collection : Skillykorn / Singapore. One of his pictures was included in Romanian school books together with pictures of other Romanian art classics.
1996 – 1997 Sole exhibition in the Gallery Noran / Lüdinghausen / Münster (Westfalen) and the Gallery Wöhrle / Hamm. 1998 Sole exhibitions : Haus Hünenburg / Bremen, Gallery Käthner Böke / Leer and Gallery NORAN / Lüdinghausen. 1999 Sole exhibition Sparkasse Lüdinghausen.
2003 Solo exhibition : "Der Grosse Vogel" in the Gallery Klostermühle Heiligeberg and Volksbank Achim. [8] 2004 Solo exhibition „Licht und Farbe“ [9].
[edit] Selected works
- 1936 - Natura moartă cu muscată , Germany, Private collection
- 1936 - Peisaj la Balcic, Romania, Private collection [1]
- 1951 - Natură moartă - Still life, Romania, Private collection [2]
- 1967 - Autoportret- Self portrait, Romania, Private collection [3]
- 1967 - Sighisoara - Schäßburg, Romania, Private collection [4]
- 1968 - La scăldat, Romania, Private collection [5]
- 1975 - Crucifixion, Romania, Private collection [6]
- 1980 - Harlekin, Romania, Private collection [7]
- 1982 - Alegorie, Germany, Private collection [8]
- 1993 - Gedankensturm, Germany, Private collection [9]
- 1999 - Das Gespräch, Germany, Private collection [10]
- 2002 - Frau in blau, Germany, Private collection [11]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Radu Carneci : Exhibition in Willebroek Belgium, Exhibition catalogue. 1984.
- ^ Ibsen : Das Theaterstück "Gespenster", Teatrul Lucia Sturdza Bulandra.
- ^ Ödön von Horvath : Das Theaterstück "Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald".
- ^ Contemporary East European Paintings : Ausstellungskatalog.
- ^ Ausstellungen in Belgien und Deutschland: Ausstellungskatalog.
- ^ Theodor Redlow : Profil George Stefanescu – Revista "Arta" Anul XXXV Nr.3/1988 - p.10.
- ^ Dr.Falco Herleman : Ausstellung in der Burg Vischering. In: Ausstellungskatalog. 1991.
- ^ Der Grosse Vogel : Ausstellung in der Galerie Klostermühle Heiligeberg.
- ^ Licht und Farbe : Ausstellung in Lüdinghausen.
[edit] References
- Adriana Bobu: George Ştefănescu - Kunstmonographie in der Reihe "Rumänische Maler", Verlag Meridiane, Bucharest 1987. [12]
- Künstausstellung in der Burg Vischering, 1991. [13]
- Künstlerlexikon für Münster und Umgebung, 1996. [14]
[edit] External links
- (Romanian) Official site
- (Romanian) Biography
