Gheorghe Tattarescu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the politician, see Gheorghe Tătărescu.

Gheorghe Tattarescu
Self-portrait
Born	October, 1818 Focşani
Died	October 24, 1894 Bucharest
Nationality	Romanian
Field	painting, mural
Movement	Neoclassicism

Gheorghe Tattarescu (October 1818 - October 24, 1894) was a Moldavian-born Romanian painter and a pioneer of neoclassicism in his country's modern painting.

1 Biography
2 Gallery
3 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and studies

Tattarescu was born in Focşani in 1818. He started out as an apprentice to his uncle Nicolae Teodorescu, a church painter. He went on to study at the Painting School from Buzău, when Teodorescu moved there. The Orthodox Bishop of Buzău, Chesarie, helped him obtain a scholarship in Rome, where he was taught by professors from the Accademia di San Luca. While there, Tattarescu made copies paintings by Raphael, Bartolomé Estéban Murillo, Salvatore Rosa, and Guido Reni.

[edit] Political activities

Tattarascu was a participant in the 1848 Revolution in Wallachia. After the revolution, he painted portraits of Romanian revolutionaries in exile such as Gheorghe Magheru, Ştefan Golescu, and, in 1851, that of Nicolae Bălcescu (in three almost identical versions). Romantic nationalist ideals were the inspiration for his allegorical compositions with revolutionary (Romania's rebirth, 1849) and patriotic (The Principalities' Unification, 1857) themes.

Portrait of Nicolae Bălcescu (1851)

[edit] Later life and legacy

In 1860, being commissioned to draw up a National Album of sights and historical monuments of the country, his talent of painting vaguely Romantic landscapes became highly valued. At the same time, showing his sympathy with various peasant uprisings, he painted The peasant at the Danube in 1875. He was also commissioned to decorate several churches in a neoclassical manner.

In 1864, together with painter Theodor Aman, Tattarescu founded the National School of Fine Arts in Bucharest; he was a professor there for a long time after, and served as the School's headmaster for two years (1891-1892).

In 1865, he wrote Useful Principles and Studies on Proportions of the Human Body and Drawing after the Most Famous Painters.

Tattarescu died in Bucharest. The house he bought in 1855 and lived in for almost 40 years is now home to the Gheorghe Tattarescu Memorial Museum. It was opened 1951, and hosts several of his original works of art.

[edit] Gallery

Click on an image to view it enlarged.

Michael the Brave and his troops	Old monk	Painter's wife and his son	Pilgrim
Portrait of Ion Grădişteanu	Portrait of Maria Grădişteanu	Landscape from Italy	Dâmbovicioara cave