It is rather interesting that the works of this Romanian Post-impressionist painter still appear so fresh and modern today, over 70 years since his passing. Their fresh colours, intense lines and interestingly chosen themes, together with the liveliness of the characters, make Stefan Dimitrescu's creations very "contemporary".
The artist was born on January 18th 1886 and studied at first in Husi. He came from a poor family and his first ever passion was music, so it was no surprise that he began his artistic training by studying cello at the Conservatory in Iasi. It was in 1903 that he enrolled at the Fine Arts School here, deciding to complete his studies, and had the chance of being a friend and coleague of Nicolae Tonitza, who would be a much more famous artist, later on.
His first works were made inside several churches, a customary thing at that time, which allowed young artists both to train and gain some money, not too little actually. Later, Stefan Dimitrescu enrooled at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, and it was here that he discovered Impressionism. This new style was everything that Dimistrescu found just to his liking, as it offered him the ideals, principles, themes and techniques that he found familiar. Only later, by combining his own manner with the Impressionist principles, he would create and original style, a mix of Post-Impressionism and traditional art, which was very popular.
The painter fought in WWI - which inspired a series of touching tragic compositions - and thus would be drawn towards compositions which had a strong social element. He was also one of the founders of the Art of Romania circle, in 1917, together with the likes of Iosif Iser, Camil Ressu, Mariu Bunescu, Oscar Han and others. In 1926 he would also become one of the members in the prestigious Group of the Four, together with Oscar Han, Francisc Sirato, Nicolae Tonitza.
He also taught for a while at the Fine Arts School in Iasi, and in 1928 he was appointed headmaster, a function that he took very seriously and regarded as both a privilege and a life changing occupation. For Stefan Dimitrescu was important not only to teach the younger generations of artists and to form a national school of painting, but first to make the students understand and discover the importance of their training. A real artist, according to Dimitrescu, had to be much more than just a tallented person. He had to have a solid cultural background, constant training, a desire to work the hardest he could and an opening towards mixing national and Western tradition, in a personal style.
Although he devoted much of his time to teaching, Dimitrescu never neglected his own works, and continued working at an even higher rate, as his skill and expertise had progressed sufficiently. Only in the last part of his life and career he modified decisevelly his choice of colours, going for much darker, somber ones, stronger lines, more definite elements in the composition.
He passed away in Iasi, in 1933, a dear loss for all of the artistic world, and was put to rest at the Eternitatea Cemetery.
Dimitrescu was by no means a minor artist, although he wasn’t quite a master of 19th or 20th century Romanian painting. He gained his popularity mainly due to his compositions inspired by the rural world, the hard yet merry life of the Romanian peasants or miners. He was keen to the importance and artistic value of customs and traditions, yet his style had a decissive French influence, maybe of Paul Cezanne. He also produced some interesting landscapes, and his works can be admired both in Romanian museums, as well as in several private collections, both in the country and abroad.
2008-08-05
