Francisc Şirato (15 August 1877 — 4 August 1953) was a

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 ...

n painter, graphic artist, art critic, and designer. Alongside

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

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

, and

Oscar Han Oscar Han (3 December 1891 – 14 February 1976) was a Romanian sculptor and writer. Biography Han was born in Bucharest on 3 December 1891 to a father of German origin and a mother from Vrancea. From 1909 to 1914, he studied sculpture and ...

, he was one of the ''Grupul celor patru'' ("Group of four"), some of the leading Romanian visual artists in the first half of the 20th century.

Biography

Francisc Șirato (Sirató Ferenc) was born in 1877 in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

to an ethnic Hungarian family of petty craftsmen, originally from the

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

area. His early interest in art drew him to attend the Craiova Institute of Graphic Art, where he trained as a

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

. Initially working in the realm of

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

, he turned to painting and began studying in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1898; however, due to financial difficulties, he was unable to enrol in painting courses, so began to make money as an

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

apprentice. The following year, Șirato returned to Romania and enrolled at the National School of Fine Arts (''Școala Națională de Arte Frumoase'', now the National University of Arts) 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 ...

. During this period he contributed satirical illustrations to several magazines, including ''Furnica'', ''Paravanul'', and ''Cronica''. In 1917, Șirato was appointed custodian of the National Museum of Folk Art. Grupul celor patru

He hosted his first solo show in 1921, exhibiting drawings made during (and depicting) the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In the interwar period, he dedicated himself increasingly to painting, and established the "Group of four" ("Grupul celor patru") with Nicolae Tonitza, Ștefan Dimitrescu, and Oscar Han. This group, consisting of leading artists of the period, was not united by a cohesive philosophy; rather, it was a group bound mainly by friendship and collaboration. In 1933, Șirato became a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts (his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

, which had been renamed in 1931). In addition to painting and graphic design, Șirato also worked as an art critic, contributing articles to the journals ''Cugetul Românesc'' and ''

Sburătorul ''Sburătorul'' was a Romanian modernist literary magazine and literary society, established in Bucharest in April 1919. Led by Eugen Lovinescu, the circle was instrumental in developing new trends and styles in Romanian literature, ranging f ...

''. He published a monograph on the work of

Nicolae Grigorescu Nicolae Grigorescu (; 15 May 1838 – 21 July 1907) was one of the founders of modern Romanian painting. He is considered by Romanians the greatest Romanian painter, and one of the founders of modern Romanian art. He is most known for paintin ...

in 1938. Șirato died in Bucharest in 1953, at the age of 75. He is buried in the city's Lutheran Evangelical Cemetery.

External links

Biography

Works cited

1877 births 1953 deaths People from Craiova Romanian art critics Romanian caricaturists Romanian magazine cartoonists Romanian essayists Romanian satirists Romanian journalists Romanian graphic artists 20th-century Romanian painters Bucharest National University of Arts alumni {{Romania-painter-stub