Constantin Daniel Rosenthal
Encyclopedia
Constantin Daniel Rosenthal (b. Pest, Hungary
: Rosenthal Konstantin, 1820—July 23, 1851) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of Hungarian
birth and a 1848 revolutionary
, best known for his portrait
s and his choice of Romanian
Romantic nationalist
subjects.
(part of the Austrian Empire
at the time), he left the city at the age of seventeen in order to attend the Vienna
Academy of Fine Arts
, where he studied archaeological
drawing (graduating in 1839) and made his first Romanian acquaintance, the painter Ioan D. Negulici.
Rosenthal arrived in Bucharest
, the capital of Wallachia
, around 1842, where he was probably commissioned to paint the first in a long series of boyar
's portraits. He was introduced to the liberal-radical
circles by Negulici, becoming very close to C. A. Rosetti
.
Dissatisfied with his oil painting
technique, he left for France
in late 1844, he attended art courses in Paris
, and began attending meetings of Wallachian and Moldavia
n students who expressed nationalist and radical ideals. He was accompanied by Rosetti, who praised Rosenthal's work ethic:
This is the most likely date of his multiple portrait, kept only in its lithograph rendition, showing Rosetti embracing Rosenthal himself and a third, unknown person - Rosenthal painted himself wearing a phrygian cap
.
In 1846, the profit from his works afforded him a trip to England
; upon his return to Paris, he was informed of his family's financial destitution, and left for Budapest
in early 1847, only to leave in summer for Mehadia
, and then, in August, for Bucharest. Rosenthal again joined the radical circles, this time as a member of the secret society
Frăţia, which was by then masking itself as a literary society
presided by Iancu Văcărescu
, and was commissioned by Vasile Alecsandri
to paint a portrait of the deceased Elena Negri after a daguerrotype. He also painted the portrait of Anica Manu, the wife of Aga Iancu Manu.
Upon the outbreak of the revolution, Rosenthal was spared the first wave of repression ordered by Prince Gheorghe Bibescu
- given the fact that he carried an Austrian passport. On June 18, 1848, soon after the Provisional Government took hold, Rosenthal applied for Wallachian citizenship
(in theory, Romania
n - as the new administrative body indicated its goal in the union of the two Danubian Principalities
); the document giving him the right of naturalization
justified it as "taking in view his talent and the active part he played in the revolution". In his correspondence with Rosetti, he later testified: "I never would have thought that I could be as Wallachian as I am now".
The Government assigned him the designing of a triumphal arch
in Bucharest, one meant to mark the success of the revolution, and, probably, of a Statue of Liberty (the latter project only survives in a watercolour by Theodor Aman
, Dezrobirea Ţiganilor - "The Freeing of the Gypsies
").
In late September, after Ottoman
troops intervened against the revolution, most radicals were arrested and transported
on board small vessels on the Danube
, to exile in various locations. Rosenthal made public his request to join them, but was answered that Austrian protection still applied to him, and, although he requested to be viewed as a Wallachian, was denied permission to board. Subsequently, he and Rosetti's wife Maria
followed the ships on shore from Giurgiu
to Sviniţa
, where they convinced the Austrian mayor to disarm the Ottoman guards, and allow the prisoners to go free.
He returned to Pest-Buda, which was still witnessing the Hungarian revolution
at the time, left for Paris in May 1850, and subsequently joined Romanian exiles in carrying out propaganda
work. His most celebrated paintings, two national personification
s — România revoluţionară ("Revolutionary Romania", which was also a portrait of Maria Rosetti) and România rupându-şi cătuşele pe Câmpia Libertăţii ("Romania Breaking off Her Chains on the Field of Liberty") —, date from this period.
, and lived for a while in late 1850 in the town of Porrentruy
, before leaving for Fribourg
, then Chur
, in the first days of 1851. In Graz
until July, where he began receiving some attention from critics, he decided to return to Wallachia in an attempt to rekindle the radical movement.
His plan was divulged by spies of the Second French Republic (already under the authority of Prince-President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte
), who read Rosenthal's correspondence in Paris; the Austrians arrested the painter during his presence in Pest-Buda, citing his "imprudent political statements". Pressured to reveal his connections and refusing to comply, Rosenthal was torture
d to death; his body was never returned to his family.
In 1878, Maria Rosetti wrote a piece for Mama şi Copilul magazine, in which she praised her deceased friend:
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
: Rosenthal Konstantin, 1820—July 23, 1851) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
birth and a 1848 revolutionary
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
, best known for his portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
s and his choice of Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
Romantic nationalist
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
subjects.
Early career
Born into a Jewish merchant family in PestPest (city)
Pest is the eastern, mostly flat part of Budapest, Hungary, comprising about two thirds of the city's territory. It is divided from Buda, the other part of Budapest, by the Danube River. Among its most notable parts are the Inner City, including the Hungarian Parliament, Heroes' Square and...
(part of the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
at the time), he left the city at the age of seventeen in order to attend the Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
Academy of Fine Arts
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is an institution of higher education in Vienna, Austria.- History :The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy by the court-painter Peter Strudl, who became the Praefectus Academiae Nostrae. In 1701 he was ennobled as Baron of the Empire...
, where he studied archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
drawing (graduating in 1839) and made his first Romanian acquaintance, the painter Ioan D. Negulici.
Rosenthal arrived in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, the capital of Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
, around 1842, where he was probably commissioned to paint the first in a long series of boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
's portraits. He was introduced to the liberal-radical
Radicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
circles by Negulici, becoming very close to C. A. Rosetti
C. A. Rosetti
Constantin Alexandru Rosetti was a Romanian literary and political leader, born in Bucharest into a Phanariot Greek family.In 1845, Rosetti went to Paris, where he met Alphonse de Lamartine, the patron of the Society of Romanian Students in Paris. In 1847, he married Mary Grant, the sister of the...
.
Dissatisfied with his oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
technique, he left for France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in late 1844, he attended art courses in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and began attending meetings of Wallachian and Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
n students who expressed nationalist and radical ideals. He was accompanied by Rosetti, who praised Rosenthal's work ethic:
"There are many Romanians here [but] none of them have to bear the cold Rosenthal has to [in his lodging]. Strange how the noble aim enpowers... there truly are plenty elloquent proofs that the man shall become great!".
This is the most likely date of his multiple portrait, kept only in its lithograph rendition, showing Rosetti embracing Rosenthal himself and a third, unknown person - Rosenthal painted himself wearing a phrygian cap
Phrygian cap
The Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, associated in antiquity with the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia. In the western provinces of the Roman Empire it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty, perhaps through a confusion with the pileus,...
.
Wallachian revolution
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; upon his return to Paris, he was informed of his family's financial destitution, and left for Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in early 1847, only to leave in summer for Mehadia
Mehadia
Mehadia is a small market town and commune in Caraş-Severin County, Romania. It lies on the European route E70, in the Cerna River valley. The town is located on the site of the ancient Roman colony Ad Mediam and was noted for its Hercules baths. It had a population of 2,492 in 1900, and of 4,474...
, and then, in August, for Bucharest. Rosenthal again joined the radical circles, this time as a member of the secret society
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
Frăţia, which was by then masking itself as a literary society
Literary society
A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of literature or a specific writer. Modern literary societies typically promote research about their chosen author or genre, publish newsletters, and hold...
presided by Iancu Văcărescu
Iancu Vacarescu
Iancu Văcărescu was a Romanian Wallachian boyar and poet, member of the Văcărescu family.-Biography:The son of Alecu Văcărescu, descending from a long line of Wallachian men of letters — his paternal uncle, Ienăchiţă Văcărescu, was author of the first Romanian grammar; Iancu was the...
, and was commissioned by Vasile Alecsandri
Vasile Alecsandri
Vasile Alecsandri was a Romanian poet, playwright, politician, and diplomat. He collected Romanian folk songs and was one of the principal animators of the 19th century movement for Romanian cultural identity and union of Moldavia and Wallachia....
to paint a portrait of the deceased Elena Negri after a daguerrotype. He also painted the portrait of Anica Manu, the wife of Aga Iancu Manu.
Upon the outbreak of the revolution, Rosenthal was spared the first wave of repression ordered by Prince Gheorghe Bibescu
Gheorghe Bibescu
Gheorghe Bibescu was a hospodar of Wallachia between 1843 and 1848. His rule coincided with the revolutionary tide that culminated in the 1848 Wallachian revolution.-Early political career:...
- given the fact that he carried an Austrian passport. On June 18, 1848, soon after the Provisional Government took hold, Rosenthal applied for Wallachian citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
(in theory, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n - as the new administrative body indicated its goal in the union of the two Danubian Principalities
Danubian Principalities
Danubian Principalities was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg Monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in order to designate an area on the lower Danube with a common...
); the document giving him the right of naturalization
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
justified it as "taking in view his talent and the active part he played in the revolution". In his correspondence with Rosetti, he later testified: "I never would have thought that I could be as Wallachian as I am now".
The Government assigned him the designing of a triumphal arch
Triumphal arch
A triumphal arch is a monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be...
in Bucharest, one meant to mark the success of the revolution, and, probably, of a Statue of Liberty (the latter project only survives in a watercolour by Theodor Aman
Theodor Aman
Theodor Aman was a Romanian painter of Armenian descent. His style is often considered to be a predecessor of Impressionism.He is buried in Bellu cemetery.-External links:...
, Dezrobirea Ţiganilor - "The Freeing of the Gypsies
Roma minority in Romania
The Roma constitute one of the major minorities in Romania. According to the 2002 census, they number 535,140 people or 2.5% of the total population, being the second-largest ethnic minority in Romania after Hungarians...
").
Exile
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
troops intervened against the revolution, most radicals were arrested and transported
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
on board small vessels on the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, to exile in various locations. Rosenthal made public his request to join them, but was answered that Austrian protection still applied to him, and, although he requested to be viewed as a Wallachian, was denied permission to board. Subsequently, he and Rosetti's wife Maria
Maria Rosetti
Maria Rosetti was an English-born Wallachian and Romanian political activist, journalist, essayist, philanthropist and socialite. The sister of British diplomat Effingham Grant and wife of radical leader C. A. Rosetti, she played an active part in the Wallachian Revolution of 1848...
followed the ships on shore from Giurgiu
Giurgiu
Giurgiu is the capital city of Giurgiu County, Romania, in the Greater Wallachia. It is situated amid mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city of Rousse on the opposite bank. Three small islands face the city, and a larger one shelters its port, Smarda...
to Sviniţa
Svinita
Sviniţa is a commune in Mehedinţi County, Romania, located on the Danube . It is composed of a single village, Sviniţa. In 2002, its population numbered 1,132 people and was mostly composed of Serbs...
, where they convinced the Austrian mayor to disarm the Ottoman guards, and allow the prisoners to go free.
He returned to Pest-Buda, which was still witnessing the Hungarian revolution
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
at the time, left for Paris in May 1850, and subsequently joined Romanian exiles in carrying out propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
work. His most celebrated paintings, two national personification
National personification
A national personification is an anthropomorphization of a nation or its people; it can appear in both editorial cartoons and propaganda.Some early personifications in the Western world tended to be national manifestations of the majestic wisdom and war goddess Minerva/Athena, and often took the...
s — România revoluţionară ("Revolutionary Romania", which was also a portrait of Maria Rosetti) and România rupându-şi cătuşele pe Câmpia Libertăţii ("Romania Breaking off Her Chains on the Field of Liberty") —, date from this period.
Persecution and killing
Soon without money, Rosenthal left for SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and lived for a while in late 1850 in the town of Porrentruy
Porrentruy
Porrentruy is a Swiss municipality and seat of the district of the same name located in the canton of Jura.-Geography:The municipality lies on both sides of the Allaine River, in Ajoie at the foot of the Jura Mountains on the north...
, before leaving for Fribourg
Fribourg
Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...
, then Chur
Chur
Chur or Coire is the capital of the Swiss canton of Graubünden and lies in the northern part of the canton.-History:The name "chur" derives perhaps from the Celtic kora or koria, meaning "tribe", or from the Latin curia....
, in the first days of 1851. In Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
until July, where he began receiving some attention from critics, he decided to return to Wallachia in an attempt to rekindle the radical movement.
His plan was divulged by spies of the Second French Republic (already under the authority of Prince-President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
), who read Rosenthal's correspondence in Paris; the Austrians arrested the painter during his presence in Pest-Buda, citing his "imprudent political statements". Pressured to reveal his connections and refusing to comply, Rosenthal was torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d to death; his body was never returned to his family.
In 1878, Maria Rosetti wrote a piece for Mama şi Copilul magazine, in which she praised her deceased friend:
"[Rosenthal was] one of the best and the most loyal people that God created after His image. He died for Romania, for its liberties; he died for his Romanian friends. [...] This friend, this son, this martyr of Romania is an Israelite. His name was Daniel Rosenthal."