You will find the Art Museum in Liberty Square, in the center of the city. It was opened in 1980, being one of the newest museum of Romania and at start the works in it's collections were from the Piatra-Neamt Collection of Art, started in 1964 and putting together both donations and acquisitions. The building dates from the 1930's, being the work of Italian architects Carol Zani and Vincenzo Puschiasis, who managed to create a modern structure, which blended with perfect balance in the area, being in harmony with the much older part of Piatra Neamt.
The museum's collections are made up out of works by Romanian artists of the 19th and 20th century, offering a comprehensive image of the evolution of painting, sculpture, graphical art, tapestries in the country. The collections and especially the permanent exhibitions focus on the works of artists who lived and worked in Neamt.
Among the "local" artists we find C.D. Stahi (1844 - 1920) - maybe the most important painter of Moldavia in the 19th century, he studied at the Art Academy in Munich 0 - Aurel Baesu (1897 - 1928) - greatly influenced by Impressionism and the Barbizon School - Lascar Vorel (1879 - 1918) - a forerunner of Expresionism and one of the most original Romanian artists at the beginning of the 20th century.
Visitors of the museum can start their visit by discovering 20th century Romanian art, through the works of St Popescu, Gh Petrascu, N. Tonitza, I. Tuculescu, Corneliu Baba and the likes, some of the works on display being exceptional. In the "Tapestry Hall" you can admire the works of Aurelia Vasiliu Gheata, born in Piatra Neamt in 1896, one of the first Romanian artists who was drawn towards this difficult genre. Inspired by folk art and Medieval murals, she managed to create some amazing compositions, most of them being presented only in this museum. Of great importance and value are also the works of Romanian contemporary art, signed by Ion Salisteanu, Simona Vasiliu Chintila, Spiru Chintila, Iulia Halaucescu, Dan Hatmanu, Eugen Crăciun, Ion Gheorghiu, Corneliu Vasilescu, Ilie Boca Ovidiu Maitec, Iulia Onita, Nicolae Fleissig or Clement Pompiliu. Of great diversity, ranging from paintings and drawings to sculptures and works of decorative art, the collections at the Museum of Art in Piatra Neamt are not to be missed by anyone who comes to the city.
2008-02-18
