Nicolae Grigorescu
Encyclopedia
Nicolae Grigorescu was one of the founders of modern Romania
n painting.
, Wallachia. In 1843 the family moved to Bucharest
. At a young age (between 1846 and 1850), he became an apprentice at the workshop of the painter Anton Chladek and created icons for the church of Băicoi
and the monastery of Căldăruşani. In 1856 he created the historical composition Mihai scăpând stindardul (Michael the Brave dropping the flag), which he presented to the Wallachia
n Prince Barbu Ştirbei, together with a petition asking for financial aid for his studies.
Between 1856 and 1857, he painted the church of the Zamfira monastery
, Prahova County
, and in 1861 the church of the Agapia monastery
. With the help of Mihail Kogălniceanu
, he received a scholarship to study in France
.
In the autumn of 1861, young Grigorescu left for Paris
, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts
. He also attended the workshop of Sébastien Cornu, where he had as a colleague Pierre-Auguste Renoir
. Knowing his weaknesses, he concentrated drawing and composition
. However, he soon left this workshop and, attracted by the artistic concepts of the Barbizon school
, he left Paris for that village, where he became the associate of artists such as Jean-François Millet
, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet
and Théodore Rousseau
. Under the influence of the movement, Grigorescu looked for new means of expression and followed the trend of en plein air
painting, which was also important in Impressionism
. As part of the Universal Exposition
of Paris (1867), he contributed seven works. Then he exhibited at the Paris Salon
of 1868 the painting Tânără ţigancă (Young Gypsy girl).
He returned to Romania a few times and starting in 1870 he participated in the exhibits of living artists and those organized by the Society of the Friends of the Belle-Arts. Between 1873 and 1874 he traveled to Italy
, Greece
and Vienna
.
In 1877 he was called to accompany the Romanian Army as a "frontline painter" in the Romanian War of Independence
. During the battles at the Grivitsa
Strongpoint and Oryahovo
, he made drawings and sketches which later used in creating larger-scale works.
In 1889 his work was featured in the Universal Exhibition
in Paris and at the Romanian Atheneum. Centerpiece exhibits took place at the Romanian Atheneum would follow in 1891, 1895, 1897, 1902, and 1905.
From 1879 to 1890 he worked in France, especially in Vitré
, Brittany, and in his workshop in Paris. In 1890 he settled in Câmpina
and started depicting pastoral themes, especially portraits of peasant girls, pictures of ox carts on dusty country roads and other landscapes. He was named honorary member of the Romanian Academy
in 1899.
At the moment of his death, Grigorescu had been working on his Întoarcerea de la bâlci (The Return from the Fair).
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 painting.
Biography
He was born in Pitaru, Dâmboviţa CountyDâmbovita County
Dâmbovița ; also spelt Dîmbovița is a county of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Târgoviște.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 541,763 and the population density was 134/km²...
, Wallachia. In 1843 the family moved to 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....
. At a young age (between 1846 and 1850), he became an apprentice at the workshop of the painter Anton Chladek and created icons for the church of Băicoi
Baicoi
Băicoi is a town in Prahova county, Romania, near the 45th parallel. It lies near Florești, a train stop between Ploiești and Câmpina. Five villages are administered by the town: Dâmbu, Liliești, Schela, Tufeni and Țintea....
and the monastery of Căldăruşani. In 1856 he created the historical composition Mihai scăpând stindardul (Michael the Brave dropping the flag), which he presented to the 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...
n Prince Barbu Ştirbei, together with a petition asking for financial aid for his studies.
Between 1856 and 1857, he painted the church of the Zamfira monastery
Zamfira Monastery
The Zamfira monastery is a monastery of Eastern Orthodox nuns, located in the Lipăneşti commune, Prahova County, Romania.-History:The church was erected in 1743, at the initiative of Zamfira Apostoli, the widow of a wealthy Wallachian salesman...
, Prahova County
Prahova County
Prahova is a county of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploieşti.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 829,945 and the population density was 176/km². It is Romania's most populated county, having a population density double than the country's mean...
, and in 1861 the church of the Agapia monastery
Agapia Monastery
The Agapia Monastery is a Romanian Orthodox monastery located 9 km west of Târgu Neamţ, in Agapia Commune, Neamţ County. It was built between 1642 and 1647 by Romanian Voivode Vasile Lupu. The church, restored and modified several times during the centuries was painted by Nicolae Grigorescu,...
. With the help of Mihail Kogălniceanu
Mihail Kogalniceanu
Mihail Kogălniceanu was a Moldavian-born Romanian liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania October 11, 1863, after the 1859 union of the Danubian Principalities under Domnitor Alexander John Cuza, and later served as Foreign Minister under Carol I. He...
, he received a scholarship to study in 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 the autumn of 1861, young Grigorescu left for 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...
, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
. He also attended the workshop of Sébastien Cornu, where he had as a colleague Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
. Knowing his weaknesses, he concentrated drawing and composition
Composition (visual arts)
In the visual arts – in particular painting, graphic design, photography and sculpture – composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art or a photograph, as distinct from the subject of a work...
. However, he soon left this workshop and, attracted by the artistic concepts of the Barbizon school
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
, he left Paris for that village, where he became the associate of artists such as Jean-François Millet
Jean-François Millet
Jean-François Millet was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France...
, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet
Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet was a French painter who led the Realist movement in 19th-century French painting. The Realist movement bridged the Romantic movement , with the Barbizon School and the Impressionists...
and Théodore Rousseau
Théodore Rousseau
Pierre Étienne Théodore Rousseau , French painter of the Barbizon school, was born in Paris, of a bourgeois family.-Youth:At first he received a business training, but soon displayed aptitude for painting...
. Under the influence of the movement, Grigorescu looked for new means of expression and followed the trend of en plein air
En plein air
En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism...
painting, which was also important in Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
. As part of the Universal Exposition
Exposition Universelle (1867)
The Exposition Universelle of 1867 was a World Exposition held in Paris, France, in 1867.-Conception:In 1864, Emperor Napoleon III decreed that an international exposition should be held in Paris in 1867. A commission was appointed with Prince Jerome Napoleon as president, under whose direction...
of Paris (1867), he contributed seven works. Then he exhibited at the Paris Salon
Paris Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...
of 1868 the painting Tânără ţigancă (Young Gypsy girl).
He returned to Romania a few times and starting in 1870 he participated in the exhibits of living artists and those organized by the Society of the Friends of the Belle-Arts. Between 1873 and 1874 he traveled to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and 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...
.
In 1877 he was called to accompany the Romanian Army as a "frontline painter" in the Romanian War of Independence
Romanian War of Independence
The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish war, following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire...
. During the battles at the Grivitsa
Grivitsa
Grivitsa is a village in Pleven Municipality, Pleven Province, central northern Bulgaria. It is primarily known as the site of one of the key battles of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878.-Geography:...
Strongpoint and Oryahovo
Oryahovo
Oryahovo is a port city in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Vratsa Province. It is located in a hilly country on the right bank of the Danube, just east of the mouth of the river Ogosta, a few more kilometres downstream from where the Jiu flows into the Danube on Romanian territory. The town is...
, he made drawings and sketches which later used in creating larger-scale works.
In 1889 his work was featured in the Universal Exhibition
Exposition Universelle (1889)
The Exposition Universelle of 1889 was a World's Fair held in Paris, France from 6 May to 31 October 1889.It was held during the year of the 100th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, an event traditionally considered as the symbol for the beginning of the French Revolution...
in Paris and at the Romanian Atheneum. Centerpiece exhibits took place at the Romanian Atheneum would follow in 1891, 1895, 1897, 1902, and 1905.
From 1879 to 1890 he worked in France, especially in Vitré
Vitré
Vitré may refer to communes in France:* Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine* Vitré, Deux-Sèvres...
, Brittany, and in his workshop in Paris. In 1890 he settled in Câmpina
Câmpina
Câmpina is a city in Prahova county, Romania, north of the county seat Ploieşti, located on the main route between Wallachia and Transylvania. In 2003, the city celebrated 500 years since its founding.-History:...
and started depicting pastoral themes, especially portraits of peasant girls, pictures of ox carts on dusty country roads and other landscapes. He was named honorary member of the Romanian Academy
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 acting members who are elected for life....
in 1899.
At the moment of his death, Grigorescu had been working on his Întoarcerea de la bâlci (The Return from the Fair).