Urmuz, The Solitary
excerptsLet us begin with on obvious fact – Urmuz is a myth, is he not? Useless like all myths, functioning due to inertia, the coronation of certain clichés. Who reads Urmuz these days? Urmuz was the object of critical studies, his work has been translated, and his name
Emil Gayk
* Gayk is the only civilian wearing a pauldron for supporting rifles on his right shoulder. His Adam's apple is sucked in and his morale is always very high. He cannot be hostile to anyone for too long, but judging from his slanting looks, from the direction sometimes
Discovering Paris
We are stepping in on a realm of legend. My reader undoubtedly knows the thrill of finding himself in places bearing a special aura. Something memorable has occurred there. Not necessarily a glorious, heroic deed, a moment of history, but an act of spirit (pardon my grandiloquence!)
Between Odessa And Piraeus
*I intended to be concerned with literary form in this series of reportage. I can see I have done better than I expected. At the moment, my problem is preserving the chronological order of events. Our departure from Odessa was marked by a small, insignificant in fact, incident,
At A Bibliophilist's: Ion Iliescu
Another bibliophilist concerned with theoretical problems related to rare, old book evaluation is Ion Iliescu, Aesthetics professor at the University of Timişoara, the possessor of a rich and valuable collection. Author of many papers on aesthetics (Course of General Aesthetics),
Constantin Pappia And His Library
The history of a country's libraries is made not only of facts and events related to large (or smaller) institutions, but also of phenomena that illustrate the taste for books and bibliophily of particular individuals, especially when such libraries come to be included
Poor Ioanide
excerpts IV In his office on the ground floor, Saferian, on a chair and surrounded by four men, all standing, was contemplating an oil portrait, set near them against the back of an ordinary straw chair. It is an Ingres, most certainly, said one of the four, a man with trimmed
The Collector Onic Zambaccian
If his consuming passion for art gained Krikor Zambaccian a familiar fame amongst the collectors in Bucharest, particularly by dint of his acquisitions in the field or foreign art, few know that his younger brother, Onic (1891-1975), yet another aficionado of beauty, was
Marcu Beza
Writer and literary critic, historian and diplomat, Marcu Beza, of Aromanian origin, was born at Salonika in 1882. He attended courses in letters and philosophy under Titu Maiorescu, then obtained a scholarship in London, where he promoted Romanian culture and literature.
The Slătineanu Comparative Art Collection - An Extinct Art Museum
1947. The year of the most despotic deeds of the communist regime come to power in the shadow of the Soviet tanks. The ordeal of the Romanian intellectual elites (and not only) begins. The Slătineanu family find themselves treated like common criminals. The whole family
Barbu Slătineanu, A Lover Of Beauty And A Victim Of Bolshevism
Member of the Academy Barbu Slătineanu was one of those people that draw your attention at first sight. The first time I met him was by chance: I was a doctor and I went to see his brother-in-law, Playno, who lived in the same house on Obedenaru street. Ever since, I considered
Hrandt
The reader will remember, if I draw his attention thereto, that the magnetic attraction exerted by the Hrandt and Rose Avakian home on me during my teenage years originated in the Eastern art statuettes particularly present on the cants, albeit not only there, but rather