Rather forgotten today, unfortunatelly, Ion Anestin was a sculptor, graphic artist, writer, painter, journalist of the interwar Romania, rather famous and appreciated then, especially for his caricaturist talent and as an art critic.
Born in 1900 in Bucharest, in an important family of those times, he enrolled in 1918 at the Fine Arts School, where he studied under the guidance of Franz Storck, later enrolling at the Free Art Academy, another institution, this one being founded by the famous Romanian painter Arthur Verona. It was here that Anestin further enriched and matured his techniques and discovered new themes and artistic trends. By 1921 he was already making himself known as a theater and art critic, with some success, as his small, but well written articles were high in demand in magazines and newspapers.
He also published several series of caricatures and satirical portraits, inspired by the Romanian cultural and political realities and personalities, which were very appreciated at that time, although a strong French influence could not be denied. He first was one of the founders of the obscure Est-Vest magazine, later, in 1928, he started publishing his drawings and texts in the prestigious Vremea, one of the very best publications of interwar Romania, of right wing orientation. This important title often published esentail texts written by intelectuals such as Emil Cioran, Mircea Eliade, Mircea Vulcanescu, Constantin Noica and the likes, all briliant talents and minds that would later be remembered as the Golden Generation. It was no wonder that Anestin felt great and honored just working with them.
He would also publish his satirical compositions and articles in several other interwar magazines, of all political afiliations, from right to left, such as Epoca, Bluze Albastre, Cuvantul Liver, Adevarul Literar si Artistic and many, many others., Soon his style was imediately recognised, his drawings were very much in fashion and imitated, although some of the targets didn’t take too fondly his jokes. Becoming more and more known for his leftist views, he was often attacked in right wing magazines, which didn’t discourage him at all. One by one, political personalities such as Nicolae Titulescu, Lucian Blaga, Ion Inculet, Iuliu Maniu, Octavian Goga, Adolph Hitelr, Benito Mussolini and many others were portretised, at least once. And not in their best light, which often led to upset protests.
During WW II Anestin gave up his leftist convictions and strongly attacked the Soviet regime and especially Stalin, a point of view that he would strongly maintain, through his drawings and articles, throughout the war. His works of propaganda were much better that the others, but after the end of the war and the brutal new Communist regime, would also mean several years in prison. Like many other intelectuals and artists, Anestin was arrested and imprisoned. Released after several years of political prison, after he had been through the Romanian Gulag hell, he was an old, sick and broken man, remembering his former success. He died in 1963.
2008-08-15
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