Aurel Băeșu (26 May 1896 – 24 August 1928) was a Romanian

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

landscape and portrait painter. Many of his works show the influence 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 ...

; an influence that was common among painters of his generation.

Biography

His father was a government clerk employed by the prefecture of

Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...

. He lost his mother at an early age and was raised by his grandmother.Review of ''Pictură sau destin'' by Macarie
@ LiterNautica. From 1907 to 1912, he attended the " Alexandru Donici Gymnasium" in his hometown, where he displayed an aptitude for drawing.Biographical notes, In Memoriam
@ Apostolul. After graduating, he entered the Școala de Belle Arte in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, where he studied with and Gheorghe Popovici. In 1915, he received an award from the Academia Română for his portrait of the French artist Lecomte de Nöuy, who was then living in Romania. During World War I, he was mobilized but, at the last moment, was sent to the rear, where he joined several other artists who were documenting the war. Although he escaped being wounded, the harsh conditions there led to a case of pneumonia that left him in poor health. In an effort to improve his artistic perspectives, and with the support of members of the Academia, he went to Italy to attend a free painting course being taught at the

Institute of Fine Arts An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

in Rome. He was there from 1920 to 1922. Four years later, he travelled throughout Slovenia, Hungary and France. For many years, he was enamored of Lia Sadoveanu, the daughter of novelist

Mihail Sadoveanu Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; 5 November 1880 – 19 October 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting President of Romania, head of st ...

, but could never propose marriage because of his precarious financial situation. In 1928, he died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, aged only thirty-two. A major retrospective of his work was held in 2006 at the art museum in

Bacău Bacău ( ; , ; ; ) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. With a population of 136,087 (as of 2021 census), Bacău is the 14th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the ...

. In 2012, his tomb was looted and destroyed. Among the items taken was a plaque by Băeșu's friend, the sculptor .

Selected paintings

File:Aurel Baesu - Calugarul Vlahuta.jpg, Călugărul Vlahuţă File:Aurel Baesu - Portret de taranca.jpg, Portrait of a Peasant Woman File:Aurel Baesu - Clopotnita.jpg, Bell Tower File:Aurel Baesu - Interior de tara.jpg, Rural Interior File:Aurel Baesu - Cap de copil.jpg, Head of a Boy

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Băeșu.

@ Evenimentul. {{DEFAULTSORT:Baesu, Aurel People from Fălticeni 1896 births 1928 deaths 20th-century Romanian painters Romanian landscape painters Romanian portrait painters 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Romanian military personnel of World War I Tuberculosis deaths in Romania

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links