Ion Theodorescu-Sion (; also known as Ioan Theodorescu-Sion or Teodorescu-Sion; January 2, 1882 – March 31, 1939) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n painter and draftsman, known for his contributions to

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

and especially for his traditionalist,

primitivist Primitivism is a mode of aesthetic idealization that either emulates or aspires to recreate a "primitive" experience. It is also defined as a philosophical doctrine that considers "primitive" peoples as nobler than civilized peoples and was an o ...

handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

-inspired and Christian painting. Trained in

academic art Academic art, or academicism or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie d ...

, initially an

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, he dabbled in various modern styles in the years before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Theodorescu-Sion's palette was interchangeably

post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

Divisionist Divisionism, also called chromoluminarism, was the characteristic style in Neo-Impressionist painting defined by the separation of colors into individual dots or patches which interacted optically..Homer, William I. ''Seurat and the Science of ...

, Realist,

Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

, Synthetist, Fauve or

Cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

, but his creation had one major ideological focus: depicting peasant life in its natural setting. In time, Sion contributed to the generational goal of creating a specifically Romanian modern art, located at the intersection of folk tradition, primitivist tendencies borrowed from the West, and 20th-century agrarian politics. Initially scandalized by Theodorescu-Sion's experiments, public opinion accepted his tamer style of the mid to late 1910s. Sion was commissioned as a war artist, after which his standing increased. His paintings alternated the monumental depictions of harsh environments, and their inhabitants, with luminous

Balcic Balchik ( bg, Балчик ; ro, Balcic) is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Southern Dobruja area of northeastern Bulgaria. It is in Dobrich Province, 35 km southeast of Dobrich and 42 km northeast of Varna. It spra ...

seascapes and nostalgic records of suburban life. Their search for visual concreteness was a standard for the Anti-Impressionist emancipation of the Romanian artistic scene in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

. By the mid-1920s, Sion's style became a visual component of the Neo-Traditionalist, "Romanianist" and

neo-Byzantine Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Orthod ...

current formed around ''

Gândirea ''Gândirea'' ("The Thinking"), known during its early years as ''Gândirea Literară - Artistică - Socială'' ("The Literary - Artistic - Social Thinking"), was a Romanian literary, political and art magazine. Overview Founded by Cezar Pet ...

'' literary magazine. In the years before his death, the emergent

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

was voicing criticism of his new stylistic and ideological choices. Sion's oscillation between modernity and parochialism, his flirtation with

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

politics, and the eventual decline of his work endure as topics of controversy.

Biography

Background and early life

The son of a

Romanian Railways Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

brakeman A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The earliest known use of the term to describe this occupation occurred in 1833. The advent of through brakes, ...

and the peasant-woman Ioana Ursu, Theodorescu-Sion was born in

Ianca Ianca () is a town in Brăila County, Muntenia, Romania. At the 2002 census, the town had a population of 12,886 people, making it Brăila County's second-largest urban locality. History The first mention of the town dates to 1834. It official ...

Brăila County Brăila County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Brăila. Demographics In 2011, Brăila had a population of 304,925 and the population density was 64/km2. * Romanians – 98% * Romani, Russians, Lipo ...

, Simona Mocanu
''Medalion Ion Theodorescu - Sion. 70 ani de la trecerea în neființă''
, at the

'
Directorate for Culture and National Patrimony Sites
; retrieved November 19, 2011 and baptized into the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of ...

."Pictori și zugravi bisericești autorizați"
in ''Vestitorul'', Nr. 17-18/1937, p.164 On both sides, his family had origins in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains ( ro, Munții Apuseni, hu, Erdélyi-középhegység) is a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians, also called ''Occidentali'' in Romanian. Their name translates from Rom ...

and the

Breadfield The Breadfield ( ro, Câmpul Pâinii, hu, Kenyérmező, german: Brodfeld, tr, Ekmekoltağı) is a region in southwest Transylvania, Romania between Orăștie ''(Szászváros)'' and Sebeș ''(Szászsebes)'' in the Transylvanian Saxon land, near ...

, regions at the time still part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

; by popular account, some were '' Moți'', that is to say ethnic Romanian herders with a distinctly rustic lifestyle. Ion spent his early childhood on the

Bărăgan Plain The Bărăgan Plain ( ro, Câmpia Bărăganului ) is a steppe plain in south-eastern Romania. It makes up much of the eastern part of the Wallachian Plain. The region is known for its black soil and a rich humus, and is mostly a cereal-growing are ...

, but grew up into a passionate hiker of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

. In 1894, having attended primary and secondary school in the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

port of

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2011 Romanian census there were 180,302 pe ...

, the boy left for

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

to study at the National School of Fine Arts, and graduated in 1897. From 1904 to 1907, with a

Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to: * Ministry of War (imperial China) (c.600–1912) * Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946) * Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919) * Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999) * Ministry of Defence (Est ...

scholarship to his name,"Compoziții ale pictorului Ion Theodorescu-Sion, în colecțiile Muzeului de Artă"
in '' Telegraf - Constanța'', March 10, 2007 he traveled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Sion consequently enlisted at the ''

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Science ...

'', studying under academic masters

Jean-Paul Laurens Jean-Paul Laurens (; 28 March 1838 – 23 March 1921) was a French painter and sculptor, and one of the last major exponents of the French Academic style. Biography Laurens was born in Fourquevaux and was a pupil of Léon Cogniet and Alexand ...

and

Luc-Olivier Merson Luc-Olivier Merson (21 May 1846 – 13 November 1920) was a French academic painter and illustrator also known for his postage stamp and currency designs. Biography Born Nicolas Luc-Olivier Merson in Paris, France, he grew up in an artist ...

. He was a rebellious student, shaped by

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

ideas, and squandered his scholarship money.Vlasiu (2010), p.9 Sion was rendered enthusiastic by news of the Revolution in Russia, and was thrown out by his conservative patrons. He burned all his belongings except for a copy of ''

Les Fleurs du mal ''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; en, The Flowers of Evil, italic=yes) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. ''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First publish ...

'', and traveled to

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

, where he probably intended to apply for the Foreign Legion. He later returned to Romania, but frequently traveled out of Romania on study trips. These took him to the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He was a staff

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

ist (caricaturist) for various Romanian satirical papers, including ''Zavera'' ("The Trouble"), ''Nea Ghiță'' ("Uncle Ghiță") and

George Ranetti George or Gheorghe Ranetti, born George Ranete
entry in the

Furnica''. From his French period, Theodorescu-Sion brought home the echoes of Impressionism, and the more modern influences of

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

, the post-Impressionist, and

André Derain André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. Biography Early years Derain was born in 1880 in Chatou, Yvelines, Île-de-France, just outside Paris. I ...

, the Fauve, together with the optical theories of Divisionism.

Krikor Zambaccian Krikor is a Western Armenian given name, equivalent to Eastern Armenian given name Grigor and the English equivalent Gregory and its variants in different languages. A diminutive of the name is Koko. Notable people with the name include: Religi ...

"Zambacu"
Editura LiterNet; retrieved November 19, 2011 Between 1908 and 1915, the artist, still heavily indebted to the work of

Henri Fantin-Latour Henri Fantin-Latour (14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithography, lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. Biography He was born Ignace Henri Jean Théodo ...

, Mariana Vida
"La société ''Tinerimea artistică'' de Bucarest et le symbolisme tardif entre 1902-1910"
in ''Revue Roumaine d'Histoire de l'Art. Série Beaux-arts'', Vol. XLIV, 2007, p.63-64 was focused on creating Symbolist compositions with trees.Pavel, p.92-93 As he took more risks in his experimentation, he began looking to Cubist

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

for a new way of arranging

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

s. In tandem with such contributions were Realistic works suggesting the influence of Romania's

Camil Ressu Camil Ressu (; 28 January 1880 – 1 April 1962) was a Romanian painter and academic, one of the most significant art figures of Romania. Biography Early life and career Born in Galați, Ressu originated from an Aromanian family that migrated ...

.Broșteanu (1931), p.316

Symbolist movement and Balcic colony

Sion was received into the innovative and eclectic society '' Tinerimea Artistică'', as one of its Symbolist recruits, in 1909, and shortly after exhibited his religious-themed portrait ''Lux in tenebris lucet'' (). The same year, he sent his works to the Official Bucharest Salon, and shared with others the jury's Second Prize ''

ex aequo ''Ex aequo et bono'' (Latin for "according to the right and good" or "from equity and conscience") is a Latin phrase that is used as a legal term of art. In the context of arbitration, it refers to the power of arbitrators to dispense with conside ...

''. In tandem, he began hiking through the Carpathian and rural regions of Transylvania. His paintings record a growing interest in lives of its peasant inhabitants (and thus in his own peasant roots), with focus on the Romanian-inhabited areas of Apuseni, Breadfield or

Mărginimea Sibiului Mărginimea Sibiului ( hu, Szeben-Hegyalja) is an area which comprises 18 Romanian localities in the south-western part of the Sibiu County, in southern Transylvania, all of them having a unique ethnological, cultural, architectural, and historic ...

. Culturally, Theodorescu-Sion also affiliated with a new wave of Romanian artists, who used simple forms, bold colors and clear contours to illustrate mystically charged subjects. Alongside Sion, this group has been said to include

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 ...

, Friedrich Storck and

Iosif Iser Iosif Iser (21 May 1881 – 25 April 1958; born and died in Bucharest) was a Romanian painter and graphic artist. Born to a Jewish family, he was initially inspired by Expressionism, creating drawings with thick, unmodulated, lines and steep ang ...

, followed later by Rodica Maniu and

Francisc Șirato Francisc Şirato (August 15, 1877, Craiova, Principality of Romania - August 4, 1953, Bucharest, Socialist Republic of Romania) was a Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Sout ...

.Călinescu, p.823 Literary historian

George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the mos ...

describes this moment as having generated "calligraphic painting": "shaped by the contours and by the invention of ceremonial attitudes", and "most often stripped down to the drawing." The primitivists' activity in the visual realm is linked to the emergence of unconventional writers and the more radical manifestations of Romanian Symbolist culture—commentators note their kinship with poet

Adrian Maniu Adrian Maniu (February 6, 1891 – April 20, 1968) was a Romanian poet, prose writer, playwright, essayist, and translator. Born in Bucharest, his father Grigore, a native of Lugoj, was a jurist and professor of commercial law at the University of ...

(Rodica Maniu's brother) or with the minor Symbolists

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 ...

, N. D. Cocea and Theodor Cornel. Theodorescu-Sion's first moment in the spotlight was in 1910, at the ''Tinerimea Artistică'' collective art show, which shocked the public and the academic authors. The group, joined by sculptor

Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian Sculpture, sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century and a pioneer of ...

, found itself marginalized inside the exhibit, but received support in the Symbolist press. Building on the conclusions of other researchers, such as Theodor Enescu, literary historian

Paul Cernat Paul Cernat (born August 5, 1972 in Bucharest) is a Romanian essayist and literary critic. He has a Ph.D. summa cum laude in philology. Cernat has been a member of the Writers' Union of Romania since 2009. As of 2013, he is lecturer of Romanian li ...

sees in this movement, called "anti-academic post-impressionism", Romania's first departure from

picturesque Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...

salon art, as well as a Romanian version of the

Armory Show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...

phenomenon. Sion was still regularly present at later ''Tinerimea'' salons. In 1912, he was extremely radical, allowing critics of the day to regard him as the prototype Romanian "

Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abou ...

" (an expression of shocking newness, rather than an actual affiliation with the Futurist current). In 1913, his featured paintings included a rendition of

the Crucifixion The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and considere ...

and melancholic depictions of solitary shepherds. A year later, he had a personal exhibit (his first-ever) at the

Romanian Atheneum The Romanian Athenaeum ( ro, Ateneul Român) is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania, and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city's most prestigious concert hall and ...

. As noted by journalist Octavian Tăslăuanu, the establishment still viewed his works with embarrassment, and "exiled" them into a lateral hall.Tăslăuanu, p.248 Shortly after the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

of 1913, a Romanian administration took over in

Southern Dobruja Southern Dobruja, South Dobruja or Quadrilateral (Bulgarian: Южна Добруджа, ''Yuzhna Dobrudzha'' or simply Добруджа, ''Dobrudzha''; ro, Dobrogea de Sud, or ) is an area of northeastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra ...

, and the region became of interest to Romanian artists.

(''Balchik''), once a promising port of export, declined economically, but its vistas and its exotic

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

inhabitants made it a popular summertime resort and artists' colony. Ioana Vlasiu
"Tonitza și întâmplările artei românești"
in ''

România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared on ...

'', Nr. 18/2002 Theodorescu-Sion joined this phenomenon at its earliest stage, and was, with Ressu, Iser, Cuțescu-Storck and others, a "founding member" of the Balcic painters' community. He was also involved on the art scene of

Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( ro, Dobrogea de Nord or simply ; bg, Северна Добруджа, ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, bordered in the south ...

, commissioned to decorate the

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 ...

City Hall palace with a series of

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s. It was here that he first met art collector and mecena

, who would purchase an exhibit a sizable portion of his later canvasses, including ''Moara din Balcic'' ("The Balchik Mill"). Zambaccian remembered Sion as a talented but peculiar and vindictive artist, who posed as artistic mentor but could not stand actual competition. File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Lux in tenebris lucet.JPG, ''Lux in tenebris lucet'' (1909) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Zito Gheorghios Protos, Furnica, 24 iun 1910.JPG, Cover art for '' Furnica'' (June 1910) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Peisaj.jpg, ''Peisaj'' ("Landscape", 1912) File:Ion Theodorescu Sion - In repaos.jpg, ''În repaos'' ("At Rest", 1912) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Încărcarea mahonului (Balcic).jpg, ''Încărcarea mahonului (Balcic)'' ("Loading the Barge (Balchik)", 1914) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Nuduri in peisaj.jpg, ''Nuduri în peisaj'' ("Nudes in a Landscape"), 1914 File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Ovidiu in exil.jpg, ''Ovidiu în exil'' ("

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

in Exile", 1915)

War artist and ''Arta Română'' shows

Around 1914, Sion had distanced entirely himself from Symbolism and the decorative lines of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

, advising his young pupil Lola Schmierer Roth to do the same—they both relied on a proto-Cubist composition into solid shapes, for which the model was Cézanne. Co-opted as a teacher at the National School of Fine Arts, Theodorescu-Sion was also one of the founding members of the Artists' Society, a leading Romanian professional association. As Romania entered

in 1916, Ion Theodorescu-Sion was forced to interrupt his work on the Constanța murals. Once drafted into the

Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

, he returned to official and academic art: he was employed by

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

Dumitru Iliescu to depict the

Romanian Armed Forces The Land Forces, Air Force and Naval Forces of Romania are collectively known as the Romanian Armed Forces ( ro, Forțele Armate Române or ''Armata Română''). The current Commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu who is managed ...

in action. Sion witnessed (and painted) the subsequent storming of the Romanian front by the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

, and joined the exodus of Romanian soldiers and civil authorities into the eastern region of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

. He was in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

, the provisional capital, where he began collaborating with other war artists driven away by the defeats. In 1918, Sion joined them as they broke with ''Tinerimea'', creating the new artistic forum ''Arta Română'' ("Romanian Art")—Ressu,

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

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 t ...

and

Oscar Han Oscar Han (December 3, 1891 in Bucharest – February 14, 1976 in Bucharest) was a Romanian sculptor and writer. A student of Dimitrie Paciurea at the Academy of Arts in Bucharest, he was a member of ''the Group of Four'' together with painters ...

were among the other main affiliates. After the Romanian authorities returned to Bucharest, Sion's work was featured in the Franklin Hall salon organized by Minerva Publishers (1919). He still flirted with socialism, and, as noted by journalist

Tudor Teodorescu-Braniște Tudor Teodorescu-Braniște (April 12, 1899 – March 23, 1969) was a Romanian journalist. Born in Pitești, he was editor at a number of newspapers, including '' Adevărul'' and, from 1944 to 1947, ''Jurnalul de Dimineaţă'', which was ultimat ...

, helped out in the 1920 funeral ceremony of

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

theorist

Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea (born Solomon Katz; 1855, village of Slavyanka near Yekaterinoslav (modern Dnipro), then in Imperial Russia – 1920, Bucharest) was a Romanian Marxist theorist, politician, sociologist, literary critic, and jour ...

: "The great old man ..was being laid down on a bier that a group of socialist painters, headed by Teodorescu Sion, had previously wrapped in red fabric." His wartime conduct and artistic merits resulted in formal recognition, and he was granted high honors—the Order of the Crown (as Officer) and ''Bene Merenti'' Medal, both in 1923. The same year, he participated in the ''Arta Română'' exhibit with

Argeș County Argeș County () is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Pitești. Demographics On 20 October 2011, it had a population of 612,431 and the population density was 89/km2. * Romanians – 97% * Roma (Gypsi ...

landscapes, including ''Fântâna lui Manole'' (" Manole's Fountain"). Eugen Crăciun
"Cronica artistică. Expoziția societății ''Arta Română''"
in ''

'', Nr. 16-17/1923, p.257-258 (digitized by the

Babeș-Bolyai University The Babeș-Bolyai University ( ro, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai , hu, Babeș-Bolyai Tudományegyetem, commonly known as UBB) is a public research university located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. UBB has a long academic tradition, started by Universitas ...

br>Transsylvanica Online Library
During the

, in addition to ''Tinerimea'' and ''Arta Română'' salons, Theodorescu-Sion exhibited his work at the Atheneum, the ''

Universul ''Universul'' was a mass-circulation newspaper in Romania. It existed from 1884 to 1953, and was run by Stelian Popescu from 1914 to 1943 (with a two-year break during World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbrevi ...

'' newspaper art show, Dalles Gallery and various other venues. With Ressu and

Arthur Verona Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

, Sion was also co-founder, in 1921, of Romania's first artists'

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

(''Sindicatul Artelor Frumoase''), which militated for basic

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

but also had a political and (according to art expert Vasile Radu) "utopian" agenda. Briefly, their plans earned official support during the interval when

Victor Eftimiu Victor Eftimiu (; 24 January 1889 – 27 November 1972) was a Romanian poet and playwright. He was a contributor to ''Sburătorul'', a Romanian literary magazine. His works have been performed in the State Jewish Theater of Romania. Eftim ...

, a Symbolist playwright and rich art collector, was Minister of Culture and the Arts. In the early interwar years, Sion was also one of the art experts employed in the authentication of paintings by the Romanian classic

Nicolae Grigorescu Nicolae Grigorescu (; 15 May 1838 – 21 July 1907) was one of the founders of modern Romanian painting. There is a metro station named after Grigorescu in Bucharest. It was given his name in 1990, before which it was named after Communist army ...

. File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Cercetas.jpg, Cercetaș ("Scout", 1917) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - La Mărăşeşti.jpg, La Mărășești ("In

Mărășești Mărășești () is a small town in Vrancea County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It administers six villages: Călimănești, Haret, Modruzeni, Pădureni, Siretu and Tișița. Geography The town is located in the eastern part of the county, on the ...

", 1919) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Piatra Craiului.jpg, ''

Piatra Craiului The Piatra Craiului Mountains (german: Königstein, hu, Királykő-hegység) are a mountain range in the Southern Carpathians in Romania. Its name is translated as ''Kings' Rock'' or ''The Rock of the Prince''. The mountain range is located ...

'' (1920) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Casa taraneasca din Curtea de Arges.jpg, ''Casă țărănească din Curtea de Argeș'' ("Peasant Home in

Curtea de Argeș Curtea de Argeș () is a municipality in Romania on the left bank of the river Argeș, where it flows through a valley of the Southern Carpathians (the Făgăraș Mountains), on the railway from Pitești to the Turnu Roșu Pass. It is part of ...

", 1922) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Miorita.jpg, ''Miorița'' (1923) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Portret Lola Schmierer Roth.jpg, ''Lola Schmierer Roth''

''Gândirea'' years

The 1920s were a new period of synthesis in Theodorescu-Sion's life, as he became the artistic exponent of a neo-traditionalist movement centered on ''

'' magazine. Welcomed there by art columnist Oscar Walter Cisek, and later by editor in chief

Nichifor Crainic Nichifor Crainic (; pseudonym of Ion Dobre ; 22 December 1889, Bulbucata, Giurgiu County – 20 August 1972, Mogoșoaia) was a Romanian writer, editor, philosopher, poet and theology, theologian famed for his traditionalist activities. Crai ...

, Nicolae Scurtu
"Noi contribuții despre epistolograful Pamfil Șeicaru"
in ''

'', Nr. 16/2010 he provided illustrations to 1923's ''Satul meu'' ("My Village"), by ''Gândirist'' poet laureate

Ion Pillat Ion Pillat (31 March 1891 – 17 April 1945) was a distinguished Romanian poet. He is best known for his volume ''Pe Argeș în sus'' (''Upstream on the Argeș'') and ''Poeme într-un vers'' (''One-line poems''). His maternal grandfather wa ...

. Another former Symbolist,

Tudor Arghezi Tudor Arghezi (; 21 May 1880 – 14 July 1967) was a Romanian writer, best known for his unique contribution to poetry and children's literature. Born Ion N. Theodorescu in Bucharest, he explained that his pen name was related to ''Argesis'', th ...

, welcomed the change in style, writing: "Whosoever remembers Theodorescu-Sion's angles, points, squares, circles, semicircles and spheres will have thanked him for handing in his cap and taking on a better suited hat, and for parting with the confabulations of a very reduced Symbolism". The painter still took commissions from the Symbolist movement, providing illustration to a Symbolist play by

Ion Minulescu Ion Minulescu (; 6 January 1881 – 11 April 1944) was a Romanian avant-garde poet, novelist, short story writer, journalist, literary critic, and playwright. Often publishing his works under the pseudonyms I. M. Nirvan and Koh-i-Noor (the latte ...

, in ''Cetiți-mă!'' monthly (January 1922). The painter looked favorably to ''Gândirea''s quest for a new national specificity in art, or "Romanianism". The authors of a 1970 retrospective, published with Editura Meridiane, describe the period as follows: "From very different perspectives, the magazines ''

Viața Românească ''Viața Românească'' (, "The Romanian Life") is a monthly literary magazine published in Romania. Formerly the platform of the left-wing traditionalist trend known as poporanism, it is now one of the Writers' Union of Romania's main venues. Th ...

'' and ''Gândirea'' ..militated for the creation of artworks inspired from the Romanian reality; and if, at a later date, ''Gândirism'' would bear the imprint of exacerbated nationalism, as one of the carriers for the

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

ideology, it is no less true that, in its beginnings, the magazine defined its aesthetic credo by balancing it against art's necessity of expressing a national reality." In an interview with author

Felix Aderca Felix Aderca (; born Froim-Zelig roim-ZeilicAderca; March 13, 1891 – December 12, 1962),

, Sion claimed: "The artistic feeling of Romanianism is separated from those of other peoples by a special sensitivity. Discretion applied to delicacy, harmony in a subdued chromatic. All things in union, calm and clear like a midsummer's afternoon." Gogîltan links Theodorescu-Sion's main period with the establishment of

Greater Romania The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...

: "Ion Theodorescu-Sion 'national-themed' canvasses were the visual rendition of a United Kingdom of Romania geography, following its incorporation of Transylvania,

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

Crișana Crișana ( hu, Körösvidék, german: Kreischgebiet) is a geographical and historical region in north-western Romania, named after the Criș (Körös) River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru, and Crișul Repede. In Roma ...

and

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...

in the year 1918."Gogîltan, p.101 She believes that Sion's passion for depicting shepherds on their seasonal treks, or

transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower vall ...

, is a symbol for Greater Romania as people meeting over

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

s. Re-adapting himself to what critic

Tudor Vianu Tudor Vianu (; January 8, 1898 – May 21, 1964) was a Romanian literary criticism, literary critic, art critic, poet, philosopher, academic, and translator. He had a major role on the reception and development of Modernism in Literature of Roma ...

calls "the mountaineer's experience", Sion was resuming his travels deep into the mountains, in both Argeș County and areas of Transylvania. Of all the paintings he presented for the public during the Ileana Gallery Art Show in 1925, the vast majority were landscapes of the mountains, or compositions with shepherds and mountain-folk such as ''La isvorul Troiței'' ("At the Troița rinitySpring"), alternating with new Balcic seascapes. There is the occasional still life: ''Roz și roș'' ("Pink and Red"), which probably alluded to a poem by Transylvanian author

Octavian Goga Octavian Goga (; 1 April 1881 – 7 May 1938) was a Romanian politician, poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. Life and politics Goga was born in Rășinari, near Sibiu. Goga was an active member in the Romanian nationalisti ...

, impressed Goga and was bought for the state by Ion Lapedatu. Sion returned to the same venue in early 1926, when his exhibited a diverse selection of his newer compositions, and was rewarded with a higher class Order of the Crown.

Sorin Alexandrescu Sorin Alexandrescu (born 18 August 1937) is a Romanian-born academic, literary critic, semiotician, linguist, essayist, and translator. Born in Bucharest as the son of Constantin, a magistrate, and Ileana, Mircea Eliade's sister, he graduated from ...

"Bucureștiul pitoresc (II)"
, in ''

Ziarul Financiar ''Ziarul Financiar'' is a daily financial newspaper published in Bucharest, Romania. Aside from business information, it features sections focusing on careers and properties, as well as a special Sunday newspaper. ''Ziarul Financiar'' also publish ...

'', August 19, 2005 (republished by the

Romanian Cultural Institute The Romanian Cultural Institute ( ro, Institutul Cultural Român, ICR), headquartered in Bucharest, was established in 2004 on the older institutional framework provided by the Romanian Cultural Foundation and before 1989 by the Institute for ...

'
''România Culturală''
) A noted figure on Bucharest's bohemian scene, the painter frequented the artistic-literary club at

Casa Capșa Casa Capșa is a historic restaurant in Bucharest, Romania, first established in 1852. At various times it has also included a hotel; most recently, it reopened as a 61-room hotel 17 June 2003. "…long a symbol of Bucharest for its inhabitants� ...

restaurant. He sat at the same table with some of the modernist and neo-traditionalist writers ( Camil Baltazar,

Liviu Rebreanu Liviu Rebreanu (; November 27, 1885 – September 1, 1944) was a Romanian novelist, playwright, short story writer, and journalist. Life Born in Felsőilosva (now Târlișua, Bistrița-Năsăud County, Transylvania), then part of the Kingd ...

Vasile Voiculescu Vasile Voiculescu (, literary pseudonym V. Voiculescu; 27 November 1884 – 26 April 1963) was a Romanian poet, short-story writer, playwright, and physician. Biography Early life and education Voiculescu was born in Pârscov, Buzău County ...

Ilarie Voronca Ilarie Voronca (pen name of Eduard Marcus; 31 December 1903, Brăila—8 April 1946, Paris) was a Romanian avant-garde poet and essayist. life and career Voronca was of Jewish ethnicity. In his early years, he was connected with Eugen Lovine ...

), and, story goes, was once caught up in a cake fight with the satirist and prankster

Păstorel Teodoreanu Păstorel Teodoreanu, or just Păstorel (born Alexandru Osvald (Al. O.) Teodoreanu; July 30, 1894 – March 17, 1964), was a Romanian humorist, poet and gastronome, the brother of novelist Ionel Teodoreanu and brother in law of writer Ștefana Ve ...

. Sion satisfied public expectations with portraits of the Bucharest

upper middle class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...

and proposed a design for the Vasile Alecsandri Mausoleum. He lost the latter commission to Paul Molda—reportedly, Sion preserved a bitter grudge against the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

, who had ruled against him in this matter.Crainic, p.287 File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Compoziţie cu motive romanesti.jpg, ''Compoziție cu motive românești'' ("Composition with Romanian Motifs", 1924) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Mocani.jpg, ''Mocani'' ("Mountain Folk") File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Pe malul apei.jpg, ''Pe malul apei'' ("By the Water", ca. 1925) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Barci.jpg, ''Bărci'' ("Boats", 1927) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Natura statica cu legume si vase.jpg, ''Natură statică cu legume și vase'' ("Still-life with Vegetables and Pottery") File:Ion_Theodorescu-Sion_-_Natura_statica_(Malini).jpg, ''Mălini'' ("Hackberry Flowers")

Final decade

Around 1927, Theodorescu-Sion was again concentrating on his murals: his only works at the Official Salon for that year were studies for a wall painting called ''Șipotul'' ("Gushing Spring").

Petru Comarnescu __NOTOC__ Petru Comarnescu (born 23 November 1905, Iași - d. 27 November 1970, Bucharest) was a Romanian literary and art critic and translator. Born in Iași into a family that was related to the metropolitan bishop Veniamin Costache, he studied ...

, "Cronica artistică. Sensibilitatea artistică românească", in ''

'', Nr. 6-7/1927, p.443-444, 446 Returning to Constanța in 1928, he helped organize an official art show to mark the semicentennial of Romanian rule over that region. His own paintings were selected to represent Romanian art at Expo 1929 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and was part of the 1930 international exhibits in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. By then, he had turned his back on the portrait genre, including on his trademark canvasses of peasants and shepherds, and his art became semi-abstract. He was seen in modernist circles, and contributed to the 1934 exhibit ''Peisajul bucureștean'' ("The Landscape of Bucharest"), with paintings dating back to 1919. A year later, he had a retrospective show at Dalles, which ran parallel to the debut exhibit of

Alexandru Ciucurencu Alexandru Ciucurencu (; 27 September 1903 – 27 December 1977) was a Romanian Post-Impressionist painter, and a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy. Born in Tulcea, he studied from 1921 to 1926 at the National School of Fine Arts in Bu ...

. Zambaccian recalls that Sion felt jealousy toward Ciucurencu's fast rise. According to Zambaccian's own account: "And since I was more preoccupied with Ciucurencu than Theodorescu Sion, he got upset and put up a sign on the door of his exhibit: 'No Entry for Dogs and Zambaccian'. Of course the storm soon subsided. The painter's wife tore off the card, and Theodorescu Sion kissed me when we met again!" During the final five years of his life, Sion was becoming a sympathizer of Romania's King, the

Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of th ...

; with Olga Greceanu and

Marius Bunescu Marius Bunescu (15 May 1881 – 31 March 1971) was a Romanian painter, organizer of the National Museum of Art, and director of the Anastase Simu Museum. Bunescu was born in Caracal, Romanați County, the son of Ioniță Bunea, a craftsman ...

, he represented, under Carol's rule, the officially-supported version of modern painting. Erwin Kessler
"MAM"
in ''

Revista 22 ''Revista 22'' (''22 Magazine'') is a Romanian weekly magazine, issued by the Group for Social Dialogue and focused mainly on politics and culture. History and profile ''Revista 22'' was started in 1990. The first edition of the magazine was print ...

'', Nr. 828, January 2006 His work was again featured at a world's fair, the 1937 ''

Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne The ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne'' (International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life) was held from 25 May to 25 November 1937 in Paris, France. Both the Palais de Chaillot, housing the Mus ...

'' in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. The same year, he was one of the artists involved in decorating the Bucharest Royal Palace (National Museum of Art), and was registered as a state-approved church muralist by government ordinance. Theodorescu-Sion died in Bucharest, on March 31, 1939, and was buried in a

Bellu cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

crypt.''Monumentul funerar al pictorului Theodorescu Sion''
at th

retrieved November 19, 2011 His last selection of works was presented to the public as part of the Official Salon, which opened the same month in Bucharest. I. Zărnescu
"Cronica plastică. Salonul Oficial"
in '' Societatea de Mâine'', Nr. 1/1939, p.2 (digitized by the

br>Transsylvanica Online Library
''Gândirea'' published his obituary, signed by Crainic, and opening with the words: "Theodorescu-Sion died unexpectedly, in the full summer of his life and of his boundlessly fecund talent."Crainic, p.286 File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Artista.jpg, ''Artista'' ("The Artist", 1927) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Tulpanul rosu.jpg, ''Tulpanul roșu'' ("Red Muslin", 1931) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Maicuta Maria Ciuceanu.jpg, ''Măicuța Maria Ciuceanu'' ("Sister Maria Ciureanu", 1931) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Natura statica cu struguri si mere.jpg, ''Natură statică cu struguri și mere'' ("Still-life with Grapes and Apples", 1934) File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Compozitie pe motive taranesti.jpg, ''Compoziție pe motive țărănești'' ("Composition with Peasant Motifs", 1936)

Work

Experimenter

Theodorescu-Sion was probably the most protean Romanian oil painter. Sion's interests in trying out formulas was taken with reserve by some in the public. Writing for the Transylvanian readership of '' Luceafărul'', in May 1909,

George Murnu George Murnu (; rup, Ioryi Murnu; 1 January 1868, Veria, Salonica Vilayet, Ottoman Empire, now in Greece – 17 November 1957, Bucharest) was a Romanian university professor, archaeologist, historian, translator, and poet of Aromanian origin. ...

contended: "Teodorescu Sion is a new talent that ought to work hard before reaching the profundity of observation which makes one an artist. He is altogether too preoccupied with technical matters and too superficial in his drawing." Five years later, Tăslăuanu was to assess: "Mr. Theodorescu-Sion's art ..doesn't agree with all people on first impression. ..The primitive and decorative genre, with simple lines and expressive planes, has not won tmany adherents. His way of seeing and rendering things seen relates him to the modern art of other countries." However, " is canvassesare like those women who do not seek to please the eye and to resemble others. Once you get close to them, once you get to know them and study them, you fall under the spell of their profound simplicity and beauty."Tăslăuanu, p.249 As noted in 1913 by ''Luceafărul'' art columnist G. Duma, Sion took his painting "science" from French academies and "the grand masters", techniques from

Synthetism Synthetism is a term used by post-Impressionist artists like Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard and Louis Anquetin to distinguish their work from Impressionism. Earlier, ''Synthetism'' has been connected to the term Cloisonnism, and later to Symbolism. T ...

in his religious work, and modern decorative elements in his landscapes. Duma describes Sion's 1913 paintings, especially ''Crai nou'' ("New Moon") and the Crucifixion, as a spiritual journey, and concludes: "In vibrant colors, with well-ordered planes, always directing us to the art of the future, the conscious painter Theodorescu-Sion dreams of and puts into song that

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

which leads to immortality." Art historians have since disagreed about young Sion's focus on the existential mystery. Mariana Vida calls his early compositions "pathetically Symbolist", but, according to

Amelia Pavel Amelia may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Amélia'' (film), a 2000 Brazilian film directed by Ana Carolina * ''Amelia'' (film), a 2009 film based on the life of Amelia Earhart Literature * '' Amelia (magazine)'', a Swedish ...

, his visions of solitary trees fuse

, "with its twisted lineaments", with elements taken out of

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

. She writes: "the leafless tree sa symbol of human alienation, of human powerlessness when faced with the immensity of nature". Pavel is explicitly contradicted by fellow Romanian scholar

Dan Grigorescu Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

: "the tree motif is probably closer to ion'sdecorative-muralist vision of a hallmark monumentality, with its ethnicist implications". Beyond the Symbolist context, Theodorescu-Sion's primitivism was a form of social investigation. G. Duma was among the early ones to describe Sion as the voice of a specific Romanian sensibility: "Theodorescu-Sion's art is the echo of a people's feelings .. It is the

atavism In biology, an atavism is a modification of a biological structure whereby an ancestral genetic trait reappears after having been lost through evolutionary change in previous generations. Atavisms can occur in several ways; one of which is when ...

of our purest art .. The artist creates, and the people he represents lives on through him, making it known to all other nations with definitive characteristics that ..the sources of its own dreams are coming to light under a creative power. ..One feels spiritually connected to Theodorescu-Sion, because one finds, buried into his pastures, the labor and suffering of a race that has produced the painter himself." According to Anca Gogîltan, the ''Tinerimea'' art show of 1910 was a watershed moment in the relationship between urban modern art and the rural majority of Romania, as both Theodorescu-Sion and

tackled rural life without idyllic conventionalism or moral indignation. She refers in particular to Sion's Transylvanian-themed ''Arat în Munții Abrudului'' ("Ploughing in the Mountains of Abrud"), "underlining man's civilizing action" rather than expressing "social critique". Prior to World War I, Gogîltan argues, Sion and Ressu were the visual partners of Romanian

agrarianism Agrarianism is a political and social philosophy that has promoted subsistence agriculture, smallholdings, and egalitarianism, with agrarian political parties normally supporting the rights and sustainability of small farmers and poor peasants ...

(or

Poporanism Poporanism is a Romanian version of nationalism and populism. The word is derived from ''popor'', meaning "people" in Romanian. Founded by Constantin Stere in the early 1890s, Poporanism is distinguished by its opposition to socialism, promotion ...

), seeking to emphasize, like

Mihail Sadoveanu Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; November 5, 1880 – October 19, 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting head of state for the communis ...

in the literary field, the "dignity", "resilience" and economic importance of the Romanian peasantry. With his trips in

, his palette became more luminous, as discussed by Tăslăuanu: "In new Dobruja with its effusion of light and warmth, all colors are lighter; countours more imprecise, less defined; the coloring mixture and contrast more pronounced and richer. In the light-steeped atmosphere of Balcic and

Deliorman The Ludogorie ( bg, Лудогорие, usually used with a definite article, Лудогорието, ''Ludogorieto'') or Deliorman (''Делиорман'', tr, Deli Orman, lit=mad forest and Bulgarian: lud - "mad", "crazy" and gora - "forest"), ...

, the artist found subjects that agree with his understanding of poetic color." By 1919, he was also showing an interest in the landscape of suburbia. Cultural historian

argues that the resulting paintings, where the focus is on women and children, have an atmosphere of "calm" and "balance". These scenes of family life contrast with his other preoccupations of the late 1910s. As Oscar Walter Cisek notes, Sion's colors were still luminous, but his canvasses "seemed to have concentrated ..something from the darkness of the great war", and, for a while, huddled together "boulders of sheer matter". According to Cisek, this preference hurt Sion's art for the next few years, but began to wear out with the completion of ''La isvorul Troiței''. In the context of Romanian artistic modernity, the parallel evolution of Sion and

has intrigued various commentators. Reviewer

Gheorghe Oprescu George Oprescu (27 November 1881 – 13 August 1969) was a Romanian historian, art critic and collector. Born into a poor family, he developed a taste for the fine arts early in life, as well as for the French language, which he taught into his fo ...

argues that the resemblance between the two is primarily modulated by Sion's temperamental changes, by his "restless, perhaps less sure of itself, being".

"L'Art roumain de 1800 a nos jours"
i
''Plural Magazine''
, Nr. 28/2006 Another interwar critic, Aurel D. Broșteanu, writes that Sion (like Iser, but with more rustic influences) contributed to "the assimilation of a pictorial objectivity", and set it out against "amorphous and disorganized Impressionism."

''Gândirist'' painter

Theodorescu-Sion's commitment to ''

'' aesthetics remains a much debated phase in his activity. Although the magazine's staff columnist noted with delight that he had abandoned his "belabored and obscure" methods for a "direct sensitivity", various authors propose that neo-traditionalism was the culmination of Theodorescu-Sion's decades of experiment. As a conclusion to his "calligraphic painting" theory,

notes that "bit by bit, Romanian painting was gliding into the

Neo-Byzantine Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Orthod ...

", while Cisek sees the 1920s Sion as a Romanian anti-Impressionist painter of the "volume" and the "classical form", compatible with Cézanne, Derain or Max Unold. Likewise,

refers to ''La izvorul Troiței'' and other works from ca. 1925 as compositions of brute volumes, creating organic relationships between the figures and the landscape, an against claims that Theodorescu-Sion had become a neoclassic. Amelia Pavel additionally writes that the mature Sion returned to painting trees, with Expressionist filtered through Derain's pictorial techniques and, more characteristically, with a growing interest in making others discover the rural landscape of Romania. According to the Meridiane authors, his "rhythmic sequencing of volumes" shows a mix of influences distilled from contemporary

Constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in Russia in the 1920s a ...

and echoes of the Symbolist master

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French people, French Painting, painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Soci ...

.Drăguț ''et al.'', p.242 The environment typically depicted in most of Theodorescu-Sion's post-1918 creative periods is that of the mountains, of Argeș and of Motzenland. Vianu proposes that Theodorescu-Sion successfully fabricated himself the mentality of mountain dweller, with broken horizons and human figures seen from up close, with a somber palette that suggests "the coolness and secrecy one finds in a forest

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

." He notes: "one may document the nature of the man who created this painting style with his famous ''Self-portrait'' he exhibited n 1925 where the protruding anatomy of his face, the unibrow, the one eye open and scanning, evoke in truth the very image of an ancestor from the mountains." Sion's polemic with urban life was becoming explicit. As historian Anca Gogîltan writes, one of his ''Peisaje'' ("Landscapes"), dating ca. 1922, has "the delicate figure of a peasant woman showing up on the edge of a city, dominated by the modern city as a densely packed background, seemingly a screen of geometric shapes." Still lifes such as ''Roz și roș'', she notes, show that he catered to the public's growing interest in folk art items, depicting rustic plates or ; other works make note of the actual hierarchies of the rural space, showing women thoroughly involved in household chores such as laundering. As noted in 1931 by Broșteanu, there were three deep influences on Sion's still lifes and portraits: the antique ceramic art of Romania, alongside Derain's pictorial vision, and, "unmistakably" so, the post-Impressionist canvasses of

Ștefan Luchian Ștefan Luchian (, last name also spelled Lukian; 1 February 1868 – 28 June 1916) was a Romanian painter, famous for his landscapes and still life works. Biography Early life Luchian was born in Ștefănești, a village of Botoșani County, ...

. According to his promoter Cisek, Theodorescu-Sion's organic treatment of nature emanates from "the fundamental law" of Romania's ancient folk arts, namely: "man does not master surrounding nature; he grows from the stony and craggy soil ..like plants, like trees, like animals." This, Cisek argues, was the revelation of a true artistic expression of the Romanian soul, opposed to the idyllic canvasses of Impressionist master

, but akin to the Poporanist prose of Calistrat Hogaș. In 1926, he assessed: "It has been said—and many among the artistically illiterate continue to repeat as much to this day—that only Grigorescu's art can ever be Romanian, and that Theodorescu-Sion's painting can have nothing in common with the substance of our soil. ..tomorrow perhaps, emay find himself able to overturn skeptical impressions and theories".Cisek (1926), p.43 Cisek depicts Sion as Romania's "best connoisseur of artistic techniques", with a "sovereign mastery", locating him at the opposite end from post-Grigorescu official art. Sion's understanding of national specificity, he argues, had nothing in common with the "mulligan" traditionalism of

Octav Băncilă Octav Băncilă (; 4 February 1872 – 3 April 1944) was a Romanian realist painter and left-wing activist. He was the brother of Sofia Nădejde, a feminist journalist, and the brother-in-law of Ioan Nădejde (an atheist and socialist think ...

and

Kimon Loghi Cimon or Kimon ( grc-gre, Κίμων; – 450BC) was an Athenian ''strategos'' (general and admiral) and politician. He was the son of Miltiades, also an Athenian ''strategos''. Cimon rose to prominence for his bravery fighting in the naval Battl ...

: "if Mr. Loghi is a painter, then Teodorescu-Sion must surely be something else entirely! One should bear in mind that Mr. Teodorescu-Sion is still developing, whereas 'Master' Loghi has reached his summit. The summit of mediocrity." Contrarily,

, who was a Grigorescu aficionado, posthumously described Sion as Grigorescu's one equal; however, he noted, Sion bowed to commissions, and as such never produced an actual masterpiece. Vianu's friend and ''Gândirea'' contributor

Lucian Blaga Lucian Blaga (; 9 May 1895 – 6 May 1961) was a Romanian philosopher, poet, playwright, poetry translator and novelist. He was a commanding personality of the Romanian culture of the interbellum period. Biography Blaga was born on 9 May 1895 ...

, a poet-philosopher on the search for Romanian specificity, applauded Theodorescu-Sion's paintings of "super-shepherds and super-peasants" in "Romanian landscapes", while, from another side of modern literature,

celebrated Sion as a "cultured" and "refined" figure among the traditionalists. Art reviewer

also suggests that Theodorescu-Sion did in fact live up to the expectation of a purely Romanian art, by going back to the "naturalized

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted ...

" of medieval muralists, particularly so in ''Șipotul''. Although he constructs a similar argument, the religious commentator Crainic finds that Sion was less secure as a Christian artist, even though, he notes, ''Gândirea'' itself encouraged him to paint modern

Romanian icons In the Romanian Orthodox Church, icons serve much the same purpose as they do in the rest of the worldwide Orthodox Church. The art of painting them has seen a revival after the end of the communist period, and today there are many active icon pa ...

"Reactionary" modernist

The mixture of themes and the controversies surrounding ''Gândirist'' politics have also touched Sion's artistic contributions. In the 1920s, the artistic vision proposed by Sion and Ressu was being contested by the

school of ''

Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of the Romanian word for "the Contemporary", singular masculine form) was a Romanian (initially a weekly and later a monthly) avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between June 1922 an ...

''. Also inspired by primitive art, its leaders

Ion Vinea Ion Vinea (born Ioan Eugen Iovanaki, sometimes Iovanache; April 17, 1895 – July 6, 1964) was a Romanian poet, novelist, journalist, literary theorist, and political figure. He became active on the modernist scene during his teens—his poetic wo ...

and

Marcel Janco Marcel Janco (, ; common rendition of the Romanian language, Romanian name Marcel Hermann Iancu ; 24 May 1895 – 21 April 1984) was a Romanian and Israeli visual artist, architect and art theorist. He was the co-inventor of Dadaism and a leading ...

refused to view the others as actual exponents of peasant traditions. The more radical experimenters, including Sion's student

Jacques Hérold Jacques Hérold (born Herold Blumer; 10 October 191011 January 1987) was a prominent surrealist painter born in Piatra Neamț, Romania. Biography Considered one of the most important late-period Surrealist painters, Hérold was born in a Jewis ...

, rejected tame modernism altogether, turning to

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

; but young neo-traditionalists such as Elena Popea found in it a source of inspiration. Retrospectively, philosopher and curator Erwin Kessler finds in Sion the exponent of "a

reactionary In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the ''status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abse ...

Romanian modernism": artistic nationalism, coming at a time when all modern Romanian art was divided along ethnic lines ("the ethnic component of classical modernism played an important role, one that should be explained, not occulted"). Kessler additionally notes that there is a radical component to Sion's belief in the organic relationship of men and the soil, likening it to the main concepts of Romanian nationalism and traditionalism—from

A. C. Cuza Alexandru C. Cuza (8 November 1857 – 3 November 1947), also known as A. C. Cuza, was a Romanian far-right politician and economist. Early life Born in Iași, Cuza attended secondary school in his native city and in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, ...

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

Virgil Madgearu Virgil Traian N. Madgearu (; December 14, 1887 – November 27, 1940) was a Romanian economist, sociologist, and left-wing politician, prominent member and main theorist of the Peasants' Party and of its successor, the National Peasants' Part ...

's agrarianism, and passing through Blaga's theory on folk architecture. Also an antisemite, Crainic contended that Sion's art never made an impression on the art market, since the buyers were "mostly Jewish". Various critics have noted that Sion's works of the 1920s and '30s are generally awkward, "scholastic", or geometrical and impersonal. The Meridiane study finds some of his works to be "emphatic", noting that Sion "does not reach into the philosophical meaning of folk mythology, retaining only its picturesque exterior." In some of his late canvasses, Sion makes a comeback to Symbolism, but gives it a "

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

" twist, for instance by having his wife pose in

crinoline A crinoline is a stiff or structured petticoat designed to hold out a woman's skirt, popular at various times since the mid-19th century. Originally, crinoline described a stiff fabric made of horsehair ("crin") and cotton or linen which was ...

Legacy

Ion Theodorescu-Sion's "premature death" was, according to critic I. Zărnescu, a moment of crisis for Romanian art: " tleaves an emptiness in our art, just when he, the man of support and encouragement, was most sorely needed." The painter received several tributes from his peers. Novelist

Camil Petrescu Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in Romania. Life Petrescu was born in Bu ...

makes an oblique—and,

points out, chronologically inaccurate—mention of his urban landscapes in the 1933 novel '' Patul lui Procust''; Alexandrescu believes that it serves to amplify the nostalgic mood in that particular fragment of the book. In addition to his self-portraits, Sion's likeness was preserved in a bust, the work of sculptor Corneliu Medrea (according to Nichifor Crainic, Medrea "wonderfully" captured the painter's proud demeanor and physical beauty). Medrea also designed Sion's crypt at

. Sion's fame declined with the years. His cultural legacy was in part preserved by his ''Gândirea'' colleagues, including those who later moved into

politics. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the establishment of Romania's communist regime, some of the latter were arrested, while others fled abroad. One of the latter was political journalist

Pamfil Șeicaru Pamfil is a Romanian given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: * Pamfil Polonic (1858–1943), Romanian archaeologist and topographer * Pamfil Yurkevich (1826–1874), Ukrainian philosopher * Radu Pamfil Radu Pamfil (21 Augus ...

, who even took some of Sion's paintings with him when he relocated to

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

. In 1972, ''Gândirea''s pro-

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

editor Crainic had been released from jail and, once rehabilitated, was writing chronicles in ''

Glasul Patriei ''Glasul Patriei'' (Romanian for 'The Voice of the Fatherland') was a Communist Romania's propaganda publication aimed at Romanian emigres, that served the aim of promoting the Socialist Republic of Romania as a harbour not only of socialist idea ...

'', a communist magazine for the

Romanian diaspora The Romanian diaspora is the ethnically Romanian population outside Romania and Moldova. The concept does not usually include the ethnic Romanians who live as natives in nearby states, chiefly those Romanians who live in Ukraine, Hungary, Serbi ...

. His article on Theodorescu-Sion was read and admired by Șeicaru, who wrote back to thank his former employer. The

National Museum of Art of Romania The National Museum of Art of Romania ( ro, Muzeul Național de Artă al României) is located in the Royal Palace in Revolution Square, central Bucharest. It features collections of medieval and modern Romanian art, as well as the international ...

(MNAR) has a sizable Theodorescu-Sion collection. Much of it has been included in the Modern Romanian Art Gallery, reopened and rearranged by MNAR in 2001. Although long expected by critics, this new collection sparked debates: critic Gheorghe Vida found that Sion's presence, like that of other modern artists, was unjustly overshadowed by the inclusion of lesser, "second-shelf", painters of the interwar age. A 2006 donation of the Lola Schmierer Roth collection also supplemented MNAR's Theodorescu-Sion fund with works he had set aside for his former pupil. Other sizable Sion collections are held by the art museums of

and

Tulcea Tulcea (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 73,707 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city. Names Th ...

, and by the

Zambaccian Museum The Zambaccian Museum in Bucharest, Romania is a museum in the former home of Krikor Zambaccian (1889 –1962), a businessman and art collector. The museum was founded in the Dorobanți neighbourhood in 1947, closed by the Ceauşescu regime ...

in Bucharest. Still emergent after the

Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred i ...

, the Romanian art market was ambivalent in its treatment of Theodorescu-Sion's work. Writing in 2009, art critic

Pavel Șușară Pavel ( Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Macedonian: Павел, Czech, Slovene, Romanian: Pavel, Polish: Paweł, Ukrainian: Павло, Pavlo) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pave ...

denounced "an unacceptable disagreement" between Sion's status as a "first-class artist" and the low starting prices of his canvasses, as opposed to the "exorbitant sums" fetched by painters such as Sabin Bălașa. That year, his ''Cele trei vârste'' ("The Three Ages") was sold for 32,000 lei. Interest in Theodorescu-Sion's work appears to have renewed itself by 2010, when the auctioned Sions fetched prices of the highest range. Veronica Marinescu
"Ion Theodorescu Sion, în topul vânzărilor"
in ''

Curierul Național ''Curierul Naţional'' (''The National Courier'' in Romanian) is a Romanian daily newspaper published in Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financia ...

'', June 9, 2010
"Un Theodorescu Sion, la 65.000 lei"
in ''Curierul Național'', July 28, 2010 The avant-garde's polemic with Sion's neo-traditionalism continues posthumously. In 2009, Erwin Kessler organized a collective show with the theme "Pork". Kessler explained that the pig, the staple food of modern Romania's

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...

, stood to replace the sheep as the "

totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the wo ...

" of Theodorescu-Sion and Nicolae Grigorescu. Erwin Kessler
"The Pig Way"
i
''Plural Magazine''
, Nr. 33/2009 Mihai Plămădeală

in ''

Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania. The magazine was started in 2000. The weekly publishes articles on Romania's cultural and arts scene as well as politica ...

'', Nr. 505, December 2009 The tongue-in-cheek exhibit featured

conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...

works by Matei Bejenaru,

Dumitru Gorzo Dumitru Gorzo (born 1975) is a Romanian contemporary artist. Born in Ieud, Romania, he currently lives and works in Bucharest and Brooklyn, New York. Education Gorzo received an MFA in Visual Arts from the Bucharest National University of Ar ...

Ion Grigorescu Ion Grigorescu (born March 15, 1945 in Bucharest) is a Romanian painter who was one of the first Romanian conceptual artists. Grigorescu is the creator of numerous films, photographic series, and actions recorded on film, as well as drawings and ...

Dan Perjovschi Dan Perjovschi is an artist, writer and cartoonist born on 29 October 1961 in Sibiu, Romania. Perjovschi has over the past decade created drawings in museum spaces, most recently in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in which he created ...

and various others.

Notes

References

* Aurel D. Broșteanu
"Cronica plastică. Colecția Zambaccian"
in ''

'', Nr. 6-7-8/1931, p. 312-320 (digitized by the

br>Transsylvanica Online Library
*

, ''Istoria literaturii române de la origini pînă în prezent'',

Editura Minerva Editura Minerva is one of the largest publishing houses in Romania. Located in Bucharest, it is known, among other things, for publishing classic Romanian literature, children's books, and scientific books. The company was founded in Bucharest in ...

, Bucharest, 1986 *Vasile Drăguț, Vasile Florea,

, Marin Mihalache, ''Pictura românească în imagini'', Editura Meridiane, Bucharest, 1970. *

, ''Avangarda românească și complexul periferiei: primul val'',

Cartea Românească Cartea Românească ("The Romanian Book") is a publishing house in Bucharest, Romania, founded in 1919. Disestablished by the Communist Romania, communist regime in 1948, it was restored under later communism, in 1970, when it functioned as the off ...

, Bucharest, 2007. * Oscar Walter Cisek, *
"Cronica artistică. Ioan Theodorescu-Sion"
in ''Gândirea'', Nr. 8/1925, p. 250-252 *
"Cronica artistică. Marius Bunescu"
in ''Gândirea'', Nr. 9/1925, p. 281-282 *
"Cronica plastică. Expoziția Theodorescu-Sion"
in ''Gândirea'', Nr. 1/1926, p. 42-43 *

"Cronica măruntă"
in ''Gândirea'', Nr. 5/1939, p. 286-288 * G. Duma
"Pictorul Theodorescu-Sion"
in '' Luceafărul'', Nr. 12/1913, p. 373-376 * Anca Gogîltan
"Peisaj național și agrarianism în pictura românească de la sfârșitul secolului al 19-lea și începutul secolului 20"; "Imaginea țărăncii în pictura românească de la sfârșitul secolului al 19-lea și începutul secolului 20"
in Angela Harre (ed.), ''Schlussbericht. Agrarismus in Ostmitteleuropa, 1880-1960. II/82 438'',

Viadrina European University European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (german: Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)) is a university located at Frankfurt (Oder) in Brandenburg, Germany. It is also known as the University of Frankfurt (Oder). The city is on the ...

, Frankfurt (Oder), p. 100-151 *Dan Grigorescu, ''Istoria unei generații pierdute: expresioniștii'', Editura Eminescu, Bucharest, 1980. *

, ''Expresionismul și premisele sale'', Editura Meridiane, Bucharest, 1978. *O. C. T. ( Octavian Tăslăuanu)
"Artă. Expoziția pictorului Theodorescu-Sion"
in '' Luceafărul'', Nr. 8/1914, p. 248-249 * Ioana Vlasiu
" 'Arta viitorului' în România la începutul secolului XX"
in ''Studii și Cercetări de Istoria Artei. Artă plastică (SCIA.AP)'', "Viitorismul azi" Special Issue, 2010, p. 3-13

External links

''Plural Magazine''
Nr. 29/2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Theodorescu Sion, Ion 1882 births 1939 deaths Romanian painters Bucharest National University of Arts faculty Romanian caricaturists Romanian cartoonists Romanian illustrators Romanian muralists Romanian war artists Christian artists World War I artists Academic art Romanian Impressionist painters Post-impressionist painters Art Nouveau painters Symbolist painters Fauvism Cubist artists Gândirea People from Ianca Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church École des Beaux-Arts alumni Romanian military personnel of World War I Officers of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Romanian socialists Romanian trade unionists Burials at Bellu Cemetery