One of the most famous Romanian sculptors, Dimitrie Paciurea was easily recognisable due to his symbolic and representational style, highly valued by art critics and collectors - as well as the general public - although it was in a sharp contrast with the simpler and enigmatic style of the much more popular Constantin Brancusi. His works are very much in demand art auctions, as they are all beautiful, well crafted and strangely soothing, they give out that strange sensation of art, which is lately a rare find.
Born on November 23rd 1873 in Bucharest, Dimitrie Paciurea studied sculpture here, in 1890 - 1894, before leaving for Paris, where he would stay to complete his studies until 1900. Many of the young artists of his generation - almost all of them - were more interested in the study of painting and graphical art, and all who could went to Paris, a mandatory destination for anyone who wanted to make himself known in the field of arts. Paciurea chose sculpting, for reasons only him knew, maybe because he was mostly fascinated by forms and movement. He had his first show in 1894, at the Living Artists Exhibition, with some moderate success, but later his works would also be presented at the Official Salons in Bucharest and also at the prestigious exhibitions put togather by Cercul Artistic and Tinerimea Artistic.
The fact that Dimitrie Paciurea was invited to exhibit here was a confirmation of his talent and originality, but also of the fact that his style was increasingly popular and to the liking of the art world. In 1919 he was one of the founders of the "Arta Romana" Society and in the following years he had several solo exhibition in Bucharest and one, in 1922, together with Cornel Medrea. His works were also exhibited abroad in the interwar years - in 1913 in Munich, in 1930 in Brussels, in 1924 in Venice - with great success, as Paciurea was both a strong talent and a well trained artist.
Despite the fact that he didn't try to imitate Brancusi, the greatest sculptor in Romanian history, Paciurea himself was opposing the Academical tradition, and basing himself on Romanian folk art and traditions, as well as the need for representation and form, he was creating a new sculpture, new ideas, new themes and ways of bringing them to life. He was also influenced by Bizantine and Renaissance art, a key-element in the forming of his style, and he often chose religious subjects, especially images of Christ. Maybe his most popular series of work is still the "Chimeras" (Himere), each of these being dedicated to an element - water, earth, sky - or to the night, with strong marking coming from Romanian folklore stories.
The artist died in Bucharest, on July 14th 1932. He was already considered a master and a strong influence and inspiration for younger artists, and not only sculptors will look up to him, but also painters, graphic artists and writers.
image :
Colossus, Dimitrie Paciurea
statue Carol Park Bucharest
