Romanian sculptor
Cornel Medrea
(
Romanian pronunciation:
[kor?nel
?medre?a]
; March 8, 1888?July 25, 1964) was a
Romanian
sculptor.
Biography
[
edit
]
Artistic studies
[
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]
He was born on March 8, 1888, in
Miercurea Sibiului
, then in
Szeben County
,
Kingdom of Hungary
, now
Sibiu County
,
Romania
. After moving with his family to
Alba Iulia
and attending the local school, he went from 1905?1909 to study at an art school in
Zlatna
, and in 1909?1912 at the
Hungarian University of Fine Arts
in
Budapest
. After spending a year traveling by foot to visit the museums in
Vienna
,
Dresden
,
Leipzig
, and
Munich
, he returned home. In 1914 he participated in an exhibit in
Bucharest
, and completed a bust of
George Co?buc
, which is displayed in
Sibiu
. Towards the end of the year he decided to leave
Transylvania
and moved to Bucharest.
[1]
Career
[
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]
On November 11, 1933, he was named professor at the
Bucharest National University of Arts
, filling the position left vacant after the death of
Dimitrie Paciurea
; Medrea held this position until 1964. In 1955 he was elected corresponding member of the
Romanian Academy
.
[
citation needed
]
One of his former students was the sculptor
Claudia Cobizev
.
[2]
Sculptures
[
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]
Some of the statues of Medrea depict well-known personalities, such as
Aristide Demetriade
[
ro
]
in the role
Hamlet
(1919, at the
National Theatre Bucharest
),
Avram Iancu
(1927, at
Campeni
),
Ovid
(1927,
?oseaua Kiseleff
, Bucharest),
Ioan Ra?iu
[
ro
]
(1929,
Turda
),
Andrei Mure?anu
(1932,
Bistri?a
),
Vasile Lucaciu
(1932,
Satu Mare
).
[3]
He also sculpted busts of
Moliere
and
Victor Hugo
(1919, National Theatre Bucharest),
Barbu ?tef?nescu Delavrancea
(1920, ?oseaua Kiseleff),
?tefan Octavian Iosif
(one from 1926 at
Bra?ov
and the other at
Ci?migiu Gardens
in Bucharest),
Traian Lalescu
(1930,
Timi?oara
),
Mihai Eminescu
(1938,
Giurgiu
),
Gheorghe Laz?r
(1938,
Avrig
), Vasile Na?cu (1947 and 1967,
N?s?ud
),
[4]
George Co?buc
(1956,
N?s?ud
),
[5]
Elena Cernei
(1962, private collection), and
Margareta Paslaru
(1962, Su?u Palace, Bucharest).
Together with
Ion Jalea
he sculpted in 1923 the
Monument of the
CFR
heroes
(which stands in front of the
Bucharest North railway station
),
[6]
and in 1930 the
bas-reliefs
surrounding the dome of the
Mausoleum of M?r??e?ti
.
[7]
Medrea's late work includes the statuary groups
Fishermen
(1959) and
Child with turtle
(1962), both at
Constan?a
.
Awards
[
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]
Medrea won numerous awards, including Honorary Diploma at the
Barcelona International Exhibition
, 1929; Great Prize at the
Paris International Exhibition
, 1937; International Prize at the
New York Exhibition
, 1939; National Prize for Sculpture, 1945; State Prize, 1956; People's Artist, 1957.
Death and legacy
[
edit
]
He died in Bucharest on July 25, 1964, and was buried at
Bellu Cemetery
.
[1]
The Museum of Bucharest Municipality (located in the Su?u Palace) houses the "Cornel Medrea Collection," which was developed through a series of donations. The initial donation from 1948 featured 118 paintings and 38 sketches, and was exhibited for a few years at the
Mogo?oaia Palace
. The collection now features 384 sculptures and drawings; since 2007, some of its most representative pieces have been on display at the
Palace of the Parliament
.
[8]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Br?d??eanu, V. (July 25, 2019).
"Portret: Sculptorul Cornel Medrea ? noble?ea ?i grandoarea unui artist remarcabil"
(in Romanian).
RADOR
. Retrieved
May 12,
2020
.
- ^
"In memoriam sculptorului Claudia Cobizev"
.
moldovenii.md
(in Romanian)
. Retrieved
2023-05-13
.
- ^
"Istoria statuii lui Vasile Lucaciu"
.
Gazeta de Nord-Vest
(in Romanian). October 14, 2016
. Retrieved
May 15,
2020
.
- ^
Bradea, Ioana (April 15, 2020).
"De admirat, in N?s?ud: Un modest, dar luminat inv???tor din Feldru…"
.
bistriteanul.ro
(in Romanian)
. Retrieved
May 15,
2020
.
- ^
"Statuie George Co?buc ? N?s?ud"
.
patrimoniubn.ro
(in Romanian). 8 March 2019
. Retrieved
May 15,
2020
.
- ^
"Monumentul eroilor CFR din Capital?"
.
bucuresti-centenar.ro
(in Romanian). March 21, 2018
. Retrieved
May 15,
2020
.
- ^
"Mausoleul Eroilor de la M?r??e?ti (Jud. Vrancea)"
.
mnlr.ro
(in Romanian)
. Retrieved
May 15,
2020
.
- ^
"The "Cornel Medrea Collection"
"
.
muzeulbucurestiului.ro
(in Romanian)
. Retrieved
May 15,
2020
.
External links
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