Brâncovenesc art or Brâncovenesc style (; or ), also known as the Wallachian Renaissance or the Romanian Renaissance, is an

artistic style In the visual arts, style is a "...distinctive manner which permits the grouping of works into related categories" or "...any distinctive, and therefore recognizable, way in which an act is performed or an artifact made or ought to be performed a ...

that evolved during the administration of Prince

Constantin Brâncoveanu Constantin Brâncoveanu (; 1654 – August 15, 1714) was List of Wallachian rulers, Prince of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714. Biography Ascension Constantin Brâncoveanu was the son of Pope Brâncoveanu (Matthew) and his wife, Stanca Can ...

in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.Historic Houses of Romania blog: "Brancovenesc Style"
. ''Valentin Mandache's weblog'' . accessed 10.8.2013 Brâncoveanu was the domn and

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

of the

Principality of Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Muntenia ...

(between 1688 and 1714), an extremely wealthy aristocrat, and a builder of fine palaces and churches. Historic Houses of Romania blog: "Brief consideration on the Brancovan style architecture"
. ''Valentin Mandache's weblog'' . accessed 10.8.2013 Brâncovenesc art was mostly focused on

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, but also manifested through

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Architecture

Description

The design style developed in

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

, in present day southern

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. Brâncovenesc style is synthesis between the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

, Ottoman, and late

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. It was also a unique hybrid of Romanian Orthodox Christian edifice styles working with the dominant

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both Secularity, secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Muslim world, Islamic world encompasse ...

of the Ottoman Empire, of which the Principality of Wallachia was a vassal. The most accomplished and the best preserved example of Brâncovenesc style architecture is Horezu monastery, inscribed by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

on its list of

World Heritage Sites World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

, where Brâncoveanu intended to have his tomb.

Revival

The Brâncovenesc style inspired architect

Ion Mincu Ion Mincu (; December 20, 1852 – December 6, 1912 in Bucharest) was a Romanian architect known for having a leading role in the development of the Romanian Revival style. Most of his projects are located in Bucharest, including his main work ...

and other architects to create the Neo-Brâncovenesc/Neo-Romanian architectural style in the late 19th century. The style combines features from

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

, Italian and ethnographic architecture. Ion Mincu and his successors, Grigore Cerchez,

Cristofi Cerchez Cristofi Cerchez (4 July 1872 – 15 January 1955) was a Romanian engineer and architect. He built approximately 50 buildings in various cities of Romania over his nearly 50-year career. His architecture covers a wide range of styles from tradit ...

Petre Antonescu Petre Antonescu (June 29, 1873 – April 22, 1965) was a Romanian architect. Over the course of a career that spanned the first half of the 20th century, he established himself as a leader in the field within his country, helping define a na ...

, or Nicolae Ghica-Budești declared themselves for a modern architecture, with Romanian specific, based on theses such as those formulated by

Alexandru Odobescu Alexandru Ioan Odobescu (; 23 June 1834 – 10 November 1895) was a Romanian author, archaeologist and politician. Biography He was born in Bucharest, the second child of General Ioan Odobescu and his wife Ecaterina. Ecaterina belonged to the ...

around 1870:

Notable examples

*Arnota Monastery *Brâncoveanu Monastery *

Cozia Monastery Cozia Monastery (Romanian language, Romanian: ''Mănăstirea Cozia'') is one of the most important medieval monastic complexes in Romania, located on the right bank of the Olt (river), Olt River near the town of Călimănești in Vâlcea County. Fo ...

*Govora Monastery * Horezu Monastery *

Potlogi Potlogi is a Commune in Romania, commune in Dâmbovița County, Muntenia, Romania with a population of 8,739 people as of 2021. It is composed of five villages: Pitaru, Podu Cristinii, Potlogi, Românești, and Vlăsceni. The commune lies in the W ...

Palace *Surpatele Monastery *

Sinaia Monastery The Sinaia Monastery, located in Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, was founded by Prince Mihail Cantacuzino in 1695 and named after the great Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai in Egypt. As of 2005, it is inhabited by 13 Christian Orthod ...

*Văcărești Monastery — ''demolished, frescos salvaged''. Examples in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

include: *

Cotroceni Palace Cotroceni Palace (Romanian language, Romanian: ''Palatul Cotroceni'') is the official residence of the President of Romania. It is located at ''Bulevardul Geniului, nr. 1'', in Bucharest, Romania. The palace also houses the National Cotroceni Mu ...

* Kretzulescu Church *

Mogoșoaia Palace Mogoșoaia Palace (, ) is situated about from Bucharest, Romania. It was built between 1698 and 1702 by Constantin Brâncoveanu in what is called the Romanian Renaissance style or Brâncovenesc style. The palace bears the name of the widow of t ...

*St. George the New Church *

Stavropoleos Monastery Stavropoleos Monastery (), also known as Stavropoleos Church () during the last century when the monastery was dissolved, is an Eastern Orthodox monastery for nuns in central Bucharest, Romania. Its church is built in '' Brâncovenesc style''. Th ...

Painting and sculpture

Although Brâncovenesc art is mostly focused on architecture, it also has remarkable pictorial works. An example is the

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

and wall painting of the St. Nicholas Church of

Făgăraș Făgăraș (; , ) is a municipiu, city in central Romania, located in Brașov County. It lies on the Olt (river), Olt River and has a population of 26,284 as of 2021. It is situated in the historical region of Transylvania, and is the main city of ...

. Brâncovenesc art was also manifested through

, which had a marked Venetian influence.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brancovenesc art Romanian art