On the street with the same name, No 51, in Bucharest, visitors can find - not very easy - an almost centenial house (built in 1912) where the Gala Galaction Memorial House is hosted. Gala Galaction was a major Romanian writer, very important especially in the interwar period, considered still by many to be the Golden Age of Romanian culture, when he was famous for his religious texts and devotion. A rather successful writer, he had a large number of admirers and imitators, but lost most of his moral importance during the Communist regime, when he was regarded as a Party friend. It was a time when most of the best writers, artists and thinkers were either abroad or in jail. So the fact that Gala Galaction wasn't in any troubles and was even permited to publish made him a suspect for many. Over the years, he was slowly forgotten, and today, if he were taken out of schoolbooks, he would certainly disapear.
The museum was opened in 1994, rather late for an important writer, and it was made possible due to the generous donation of Elena Galaction-Stanciulescu, the last of the writer's children, who donated the building and a major part of the collection to the Romanian state.
Situated in the north of Bucharest, the house was built in 1912, and the family Galaction moved here in 1915, after Gala Galaction managed to raise sufficient money for the house. It wasn't a rich neighbourhood, or a central one, so the price wasn't really steep, especially for a house with one floor and even a small yard. But it is more than suitable for a memorial house that still keeps alive the atmosphere and charm of the author's times. Gala Galaction wrote here a major part of his work, from his literary creations to his theological major books, very appreciated in his time and still popular today among those who are interested. In the 14 years when he was a teacher in Chisinau, he published several successful novels and in 1938, together with Radu Voila (also a priest) began a neew translation of the Bible, considered by many to be the best in Romanian. As a writer and a devout priest, Galaction managed to give the Bible a new sweetness, a new charm, he managed to make the sacred text alive and new, yet at the same time rich and compelling.
A visit to the memorial house begins downstairs, the first exhibits being a series of photos, depicting the author and several of his closest friends : Tudor Arghezi, N.D. Cocea, Vasile Demetrius. Also, we can see here several personal objects - including one of his pens - manuscripts, documents, as well as the greatest treasure : a copy of the Bible translated by Galaction, bearing on the frontpage a dedication to one of his daughters. On the walls, visitors can admire some of the paintings made by Luky Galaction, a rather successful artist then, who exhibited in Romania and Italy. There are around 30 works, mainly family portraits. We also have a few works by other artists, of little value.
Upstairs there are only two rooms and a terrace. The larger one, the main bedroom, has kept it's original furniture, but the smaller one is much more interesting. It is the room where Gala Galaction used to work, and still keeps it's aspect of a monk's refuge. A narrow iron bed, a small desk with writing tools and a few photographs, several religious paintings on the walls. A small and secluded space, where Galaction came to be alone and work in peace, hours after hours of devoted, hard work. One could only imagine how much time it took him to practically reinvent the Biblical language, without ever changing even the smallest significance, at the same time trying to offer reader a fresh and beautiful text.
Although he is largely forgotten today, Gala Galaction remains an interesting author in 20th century Romanian literature. Uneven and with many rather bad pages, certainly not as good as other of his contemporaries, he remains the one who gave Romania a new translation of the Holy Bible. And for that reason alone, a visit to his memorial house is necessary, even mandatory, as a proof of respect and a small thank you. On the plus side, the streets in that neighbourhood are filled with old houses, so you will feel you have returned to the old Bucharest, in the first decades of the last century, when everything was much calmer and peacefull, when everyone had much more time.
2007-12-18
