Mihail Simonidi or, in French, Michel Simonidy (8 March 1870,

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 ...

- 7 February 1933,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

) was a Romanian painter, designer and decorator of Greek ancestry who worked in the Art Nouveau style.

Biography

He came from a Greek family that had settled in Muntenia and was originally named Menelas Simonides. In Paris, he was a pupil of

Léon Bonnat Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat (20 June 1833 – 8 September 1922) was a French painter, Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur and professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Early life Bonnat was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 he lived in M ...

and

Gabriel Ferrier Gabriel-Joseph-Marie-Augustin Ferrier (29 September 1847 in Nîmes – 6 June 1914 in Paris) was a French portrait painter and orientalist. Biography His father was a pharmacist. He began his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts, where he worke ...

and was best-known for his

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

scenes and nudes. He received an honorable mention at the Exposition Universelle (1889). His "Death of Mithridates" also won a medal at the Salon, where he exhibited from 1908 to 1912. As did most of those who worked in the Art Nouveau style, he designed numerous posters, including advertising for

Braun Braun is a common surname, originating from the German word for the color brown. The name is the 22nd most common family name in Germany. Many German emigrants to the United States also changed their name to ''Brown'' (''see Brown (surname)'') ...

-Clément & Cie. (photographers) and ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'' as well as one for a performance of ''Théodora'' by

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 18318 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-centur ...

, starring Sarah Bernhardt. He occasionally collaborated with

Jean de Paleologu Jean de Paleologu (or Paleologue) (1855 – 24 November 1942) was a Romanian poster artist, painter, and illustrator, who often used Pal or PAL as his signature or logo and was active in France and the United States. Born in Bucharest, he trained ...

(known as "Pal"). He returned to Romania intermittently to do interiors. His best-known work involved decorations for the Hall of Honor and the ceiling of the boardroom at the

CEC Palace The CEC Palace ( ro, Palatul CEC) in Bucharest, Romania, built between 8 June 1897 and 1900, and situated on Calea Victoriei opposite the National Museum of Romanian History, is the headquarters of CEC Bank. History Before the construction of ...

, designed by the French architect, . The ceiling depicts

Fortuna Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...

and the Romanians following the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

. A study for the mural won a silver medal at the Exposition Universelle (1900). His portraits of King Carol I and Queen Elisabeth were destroyed by the Communist régime. In 2004, the contents of his studio were auctioned off at the

Hôtel Drouot Hôtel Drouot is a large auction house in Paris, known for fine art, antiques, and antiquities. It consists of 16 halls hosting 70 independent auction firms, which operate under the umbrella grouping of Drouot. The firm's main location, called D ...

Selected works

File:Mihail Simonidy - Winter perfume.jpg, Winter Perfume Mihail Simonidy - Sarah Bernhardt in Teodora Bizantului.jpg, Sarah Bernhardt as Théodora File:Mihail Simonidi - Nud02.jpg, Nude Leaning
Against a Rock File:Mihail Simonidy - Le Figaro01.jpg, Poster for ''Le Figaro''

Sources

* Tudor Octavian, ''Pictori români uitați'' (Forgotten Romanian Painters), Noi media print, 2003, pg.73 * ''Michel Simonidy: 1872-1933 : album'', I. C. Advertising, 2006 * Gabriel Badea-Păun, ''Pictori romani in Franta 1834-1939'', Noi Media Print, 2012, pgs.240-245

External links

ArtNet: More works by Simonidi.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonidi, Mihail 1870 births 1933 deaths 20th-century Romanian painters Romanian emigrants to France Romanian muralists Art Nouveau painters Artists from Bucharest Romanian poster artists Romanian people of Greek descent Art Nouveau designers