Ion Țuculescu (; 19 May 1910 – 27 July 1962) 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 ...

expressionist 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 ...

and abstract

oil painter Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

, although professionally he worked as a biologist and physician. His artwork became well-known posthumously, when, in the spring of 1965, a major retrospective exhibition revealed him as one of the important post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

European

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 tradit ...

ists.

Biography

Born 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 ...

, the son of Ioan and Verginica Țuculescu, he attended the Carol I High School in the city. In the art classes he was guided by teacher

Eugen Ciolac Eugen is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Archduke Eugen of Austria (1863–1954), last Habsburg Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order from 1894 to 1923 * Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke (1865–1947), Swedish painter, art collector, and pa ...

, who taught him some of the techniques he was to use. His participation was first noted during the exhibition organized in 1925 in the reception hall of the

Dolj County Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)-Jiu River, Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to ''Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova. Demographics In 2011, ...

Administrative Palace. Although his artistic talent was becoming appreciated, Ţuculescu did not attend a higher-education art school; instead, he went to the Faculty of Natural Sciences within the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

, where he would graduate in 1936. In parallel, he also attended the

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 ...

Medical University A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

, graduating ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' in 1939. Between 1930 and 1934, he took several trips to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, either together with

Gala Galaction Gala Galaction (; the pen name of Grigore or Grigorie Pișculescu ; April 16, 1879—March 8, 1961) was a Romanian Orthodox clergyman, theologian, writer, journalist, left-wing activist, as well as a political figure of the People's Republic ...

and his daughters, or with his own fiancée, Maria Fotiade (whom he married on May 5, 1935). It was during these trips that he retook to painting, being inspired by the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

landscapes. His first personal exhibition would take place in 1938 in the

Romanian Athenaeum The Romanian Athenaeum () 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 home of the "Geor ...

hall of Bucharest. By 1960, Țuculescu had taken part in several collective exhibitions, and had also displayed his works at the Official Salon (in 1941 and 1945). He had had seven personal exhibitions at the Romanian Athenaeum. With the exception of the war period, when he was drafted into the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

as a

combat medic A combat medic is responsible for providing emergency medicine, emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injury or illnes ...

, the practice of medicine did not take up much of his time. Biology had become his second most important interest, and he worked as a

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and medieval world. The ...

er within the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) 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 bylaws, the academy's ma ...

. An

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning, self-study and self-teaching) is the practice of education without the guidance of schoolmasters (i.e., teachers, professors, institutions). Overview Autodi ...

in painting, Țuculescu worked intensely after his second debut. Although he was continuously present in the artistic life of the time, his work found almost no response. RO IF Cernica monastery Ion Tuculescu grave

RO IF Cernica monastery Ion Tuculescu grave

He died in Bucharest at the age of 52, and was buried in the

Cernica Monastery Cernica Monastery (Romanian: ''Mănăstirea Cernica'') is a Romanian Orthodox monastery located on the shore of . Situated in Ilfov County, just outside Bucharest, it is part of Pantelimon town. It is listed as a historic monument. History Cern ...

graveyard, in the Galaction family vault.

Art

Stamp 1985 - Ion Tuculescu - Apus de soare

Posthumously, his paintings would be the subject of critical acclaim, and, promoted by figures such as

Petru Comarnescu __NOTOC__ Petru Comarnescu (23 November 1905 – 27 November 1970) was a Romanian literary and art critic and translator. Born in Iași into a family that was related to the metropolitan bishop , he studied law at the University of Bucharest (degr ...

, were the focus of numerous exhibitions inside Romania and abroad. In his early years, Țuculescu's work was marked by the influence of figurative

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 ...

, gathering themes and subjects from

Romanian folklore The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romania ...

. He did not abandon their influence as he moved toward

abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...

, making use of

decorative Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes them pleasure, pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, art and taste are the main subjects of aesthetics, one of the fie ...

elements originating in the

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

of his native region,

Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...

. Țuculescu's paintings have in common with the drawings of American artist Jerry McDaniel "the bold use of strong, bright colors, and the expressivity of repetitive geometric elements".

References

External links

Ion Țuculescu Gallery

Ion Țuculescu's paintings and profile at the Craiova Art Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuculescu Ion 1910 births 1962 deaths People from Craiova Abstract expressionist artists Expressionist painters Carol I National College alumni University of Bucharest alumni Romanian biologists Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church 20th-century Romanian painters 20th-century Romanian physicians 20th-century Romanian biologists Burials at Cernica Monastery Cemetery