Tamara Nina Arbore (18891942) was a Romanian painter and illustrator, known for her

still-life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...

s and portraits.

Life and work

Her father,

Zamfir Zamfir is both a Romanian given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Cristina Zamfir (born 1989), Romanian handballer * Gheorghe Zamfir (born 1941), Romanian pan-flute musician * Mircea Zamfir (born 1985), Romanian gy ...

and older sister, Ecaterina were both well-known political activists. She took her first art lessons from Nicolae Vermont while she was attending the public schools in Bucharest. In 1906, she enrolled at the Women's Academy of the Munich Artists' Association, where she studied with

Angelo Jank Angelo Jank (30 October 1868 in Munich – 9 October 1940 in Munich) was a German animal painter, illustrator and member of the Munich Secession. He was the son of the German painter Christian Jank and specialized in scenes with horses and rider ...

. After completing her studies, she went to Paris, where she found a position in the studio of Henri Matisse. Upon her return to Bucharest, she held her first personal exhibition there. Together with her friends,

Cecilia Cuțescu-Storck Cecilia Cuțescu-Storck (14 March 1879, in Câineni, Vâlcea – 29 October 1969, in Bucharest) was a Romanian painter with a strong influence on cultural life in the interwar period. She was a promoter of feminism, contributing to the establis ...

and , she formed what was known as the "Grup al celor trei doamne" (Group of Three Ladies), as a counterweight to the "Grupul celor patru" (Group of Four), consisting of

Nicolae Tonitza Nicolae Tonitza (; April 13, 1886 – February 27, 1940) was a Romanian painter, Engraving, engraver, Lithography, lithographer, journalist and art critic. Drawing inspiration from Post-impressionism and Expressionism, he had a major role in i ...

Francisc Șirato Francisc Şirato (August 15, 1877, Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding poli ...

Ștefan Dimitrescu Ștefan Dimitrescu (January 18, 1886 – May 22, 1933) was a Romanian Post-impressionist painter and draftsman. Biography Born in Huși into a modest family, he completed his primary and secondary studies in his hometown. In 1903, deciding ...

and Oscar Han. In 1916, her group became the founders of the "Asociația femeilor pictore și sculptore" (Association of Female Sculptors and Painters), which was sponsored by the Romanian royal family. Many of her paintings were bought by

Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești (; born Alexandru Bogdan, also known as Ion Doican, Ion Duican and Al. Dodan; June 13, 1870 – May 12, 1922) was a Romanian Symbolism (arts), Symbolist poet, essayist, and art and literary critic, who was also known as ...

, a noted critic, poet and art collector, who wrote extensively about her work, comparing it to classical Byzantine art and the works of the Quattrocento. She was awarded a first-class prize at the

1929 Barcelona International Exposition The 1929 Barcelona International Exposition (also 1929 Barcelona Universal Exposition, or Expo 1929, officially in Spanish: ''Exposición Internacional de Barcelona 1929'' was the second World Fair to be held in Barcelona, the first one being i ...

. Her reputation was enhanced by a series of social-awareness themed engravings and illustrations done for the magazine ''

Cuvântul Liber ''Cuvântul'' (, meaning "The Word") was a daily newspaper, published by philosopher Nae Ionescu in Bucharest, Romania, from 1926 to 1934, and again in 1938. It was primarily noted for progressively adopting a far right and fascist agenda, and ...

'' during the thirties. Her drawings also appeared in '' România Muncitoare''. In addition to her canvases, she provided decorations for the Church of Saint Constantine and Elena in

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

and the Church of Elijah the Tishbite in Sinaia. For many years, she participated in exhibitions held by the fine arts society of

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

. She was also a teacher at the "Academy of Decorative Arts", founded by

M. H. Maxy Max Hermann Maxy (also known as M. H. Maxy, born Max Herman; October 26, 1895–July 19, 1971) was a Romanian painter, art professor, scenographer, and professor of German-Jewish descent. Early life and education Maxy was born in Brăila in ...

. Following her sister's execution in 1937, she retired from public life. Her death appears to have been the result of an accident.

Selected paintings

Nina Arbore - Portret de femeie 1927.jpg, Portrait of a Woman File:Nina Arbore - Lalele galbene.jpg, Yellow Tulips Nina Arbore - Dumitru Arbore (Portretul fratelui pictoriţei Nina Arbore).jpg, Portrait of her brother, Dumitriu File:Nina Arbore 1.jpg, Vase with Lilies Nina Arbore - Doua surori.jpg, Two Sisters

References

External links

Nina Arbore
@ the Centre for Romanian Studies.
Nina Arbore
@ '' Ziarul Financiar'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Arbore, Nina 1889 births 1942 deaths Romanian still life painters People from Tecuci 20th-century Romanian painters 20th-century Romanian women artists

Life and work

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links