Sava Henția (1 February 1848, Sebeșel - 21 February 1904, Sebeșel) was an Imperial Austrian-born

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, decorator and illustrator.

Biography

He was one of fourteen surviving children of a priest. In 1862, after finishing his primary education, he was apprenticed to an uncle, who taught him how to retouch photographs.Brief biography
@ the Sebeș website. The following year, he caught

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

and the

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg ...

that was used to treat it damaged his hearing. His work with photographs encouraged him to pursue a career in art. From 1865 to 1870, he studied at the

Bucharest National University of Arts The National University of Arts in Bucharest () is a university in Bucharest preparing students in fine arts. The National University of Arts is a higher education institution in Bucharest. History The National School of Fine Arts was founded ...

with

Gheorghe Tattarescu Gheorghe Tattarescu (; October 1818 – October 24, 1894) was a Moldavian, later Romanian painter and a pioneer of neoclassicism in his country's modern painting. Biography Early life and studies Tattarescu was born in Focşani in 1818. ...

and

Theodor Aman Theodor Aman (20 March 1831 – 19 August 1891) was a Romanian painter, engraver and art professor. He mostly produced genre and history scenes. Biography His father was a cavalry commander from Craiova but he was born in Câmpulung, where his ...

. He was then able to obtain a scholarship and went to Paris, where he enrolled at the

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

and found a position in the prestigious workshop of

Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French Painting, painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the Academic art, academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. He was Napoleon ...

. In 1873, he returned to Bucharest and became a teacher of drawing and calligraphy at the "Elena Doamna" orphan asylum. Four years later, on the recommendation of Doctor Carol Davila, he became a correspondent with the Army ambulance corps and participated in the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

(War of Independence), sketching numerous scenes of campaigns and battles, many of which he later made into

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

s. His painting of an artillery battery from

Calafat Calafat () is a city in Dolj County, southern Romania, in the region of Oltenia. It lies on the river Danube, opposite the Bulgarian city of Vidin, to which it is linked by the Calafat-Vidin Bridge, opened in 2013. After the destruction of the b ...

was used on a one Leu postage stamp in 1977. After the war, he worked as a teacher, interior decorator and book illustrator. Between 1901 and 1902, he was one of the artists commissioned to restore the murals and altarpieces at the

Brebu Monastery The Brebu Monastery in Romania is one of the most important architectural achievements of the rule of Matei Basarab and of Romanian art in the 17th century. Constructions began in 1640. The Romanian Orthodox Church, Romanian Orthodox monastery is ...

. At 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 ...

, he produced portraits of that institution's founders. His home in Sebeș became an historical monument. It was not properly maintained, however, and the roof collapsed in 2001. After further deterioration, all that remained was the front wall and foundation. It was later taken off the list of historical monuments. A street in Bucharest is named after him.

Selected paintings

File:Sava Hentia - Fratii.jpg, Brothers (1882) File:Sava Hentia - Fata cu porumbei.jpg, Girl with Pigeons (1875) File:Sava Hentia - Mama adoptiva.jpg, Adoptive Mother (1890) File:Sava Hentia - Portret de tigancusa.jpg, Portrait of a Gypsy (1881) File:Sava Hentia - Autoportret cu logodnica.jpg, Self-portrait with Fiancée
(Ana Dăncilă)

References

External links

Arcadja Auctions: More works by Henția

Masterpieces of Sava Henția
a video from EU Screen {{DEFAULTSORT:Hentia, Sava 1848 births 1904 deaths People from Sebeș Painters from Austria-Hungary Romanian Austro-Hungarians Romanian portrait painters 19th-century Romanian illustrators 19th-century Romanian painters

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links