Visual Mythology: The Case of Nicolae Grigorescu as the National Painter
Visual Mythology: The Case of Nicolae Grigorescu as the National Painter

Summary/Abstract: Every modern nation has its cultural Pantheon of poets, writers, painters, sculptors, playwrights, composers, singers, scientists, doctors and many more. But out of the ranks of these most prestigious figures there will always be a number one in each category. There will be for each and every nation, the Poet, the Composer, the Sculptor and the Painter. In Romanian cultural tradition these figures cannot be mistaken, the Poet with a capital letter is Mihai Eminescu, the Composer is George Enescu, the Sculptor is, to be sure, Constantin Brâncuşi and the list may be continued. It goes without saying that the Romanian national painter is Nicolae Grigorescu. They have achieved this position in the collective consciousness not because they were the very first in their respective fields, but mainly because they where the first to create works comparable with those of their Western counterparts and therefore have had a major contribution to the modernisation of the Romanian society. This is important. Modernisation and synchronisation with the civilised Western cultures has been a central issue in the political and cultural life of Romania throughout the 19th century and the beginning of the next. These figures also became role models for the generations that followed and have been presented as heroic figures in textbooks and have been an important component of popular culture.

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