Virgil Cioflec și pinacoteca Universității clujene interbelice
Virgil Cioflec and the Interwar Art Gallery of the University of Cluj

Summary/Abstract: In 1929, the University of Cluj received a substantial donation from the writer and philantropist Virgil Cioflec. The donation consisted of a valuable art collection that was continuously enriched during the interwar period, becoming a unique collection within the landscape of Romanian universities. The motivation behind this donation was Virgil Cioflec’s desire to contribute to the cultivation of good taste and artistic education among university students, as well as to foster dialogue between ethnic groups in the highly dynamic political context of interwar Romania. Thus, the „King Ferdinand I” University of Cluj hosted its first art gallery, which operated as a foundation named after its patron. In its early days, the collection comprised over seventy paintings and drawings, along with two busts, most of them by renowned Romanian artists such as Nicolae Grigorescu and Ștefan Luchian. It was housed within the Institute of Classical Studies, in three rooms, two of which were named after the celebrated painters Nicolae Grigorescu and Ștefan Luchian. The collection continued to grow each year, so that by 1948 it numbered 325 works. The purpose of this study is to trace the history of this university collection throughout the interwar period, as one of the most important donations that enriched the academic heritage of Cluj, while also contributing to the city’s cultural and artistic development.

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