Camil Ressu (; 28 January 1880 – 1 April 1962) was a Romanian painter and academic, one of the most significant art figures of

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 ...

Biography

Early life and career

Born in

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

, Ressu came from an Aromanian family that migrated to Romania from

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

at the start of the 19th century. His father, Constantin Ressu was a journalist and had studied law in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. He was also an artist in his spare time. In 1887, Ressu was enrolled at the School of Fine 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 ...

. He continued his studies at the

School of Fine Arts The School of Fine Arts or College of Fine Arts is the official name or part of the name of several schools of fine arts, often as an academic part of a larger university. These include: The Americas North America *Alabama School of Fin ...

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 painters Gheorghe Popovici and Gheorghe Panaiteanu Bardasare. In 1902, he finished his studies in Iași, being awarded a silver medal, and left Romania for

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, seeking to further develop his artistic skills. In Paris, he studied at the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

. In 1908, Ressu returned to Romania and became interested in social matters, contributing satirical drawings to several publications, including ''Furnica'', ''Facla'', and ''

Adevărul (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published during the Kingd ...

''. In the same year, he became a member of the

Social Democratic Party of Romania The Social Democratic Party (, PSD) is the largest political party in Romania. It is also the largest Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Romania, political party in the country. It was founded by Ion Iliescu, Rom ...

(or, rather, its surviving Bucharest circle, ''Socialist Union of Romania'', formed around the paper ''

România Muncitoare ''România Muncitoare'' ("Working Romania" or "Laborer Romania") was a socialist newspaper, published in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Eur ...

''). In 1910, his works (

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

and paintings with bucolic themes) were featured in the ''Tinerimii Artistice'' ("Artistic Youth") exhibition. Ressu opened his first personal exhibition in 1914, in Bucharest.

Renown

Resting Reapers by Camil Ressu 1966 Romanian stamp

In 1917, along with the painters

Nicolae Dărăscu Nicolae Dărăscu (February 18, 1883 – August 14, 1959) was a Romanian painter. He was influenced by Impressionism and Neo-impressionism. Biography Born in Giurgiu, he studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest between 1902 and ...

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 ...

Iosif Iser Iosif Iser (21 May 1881 – 25 April 1958; born and died in Bucharest) was a Romanian painter and graphic artist. Born to a History of the Jews in Romania, Jewish family, he was initially inspired by Expressionism, creating drawings with thick, ...

Marius Bunescu Marius Bunescu (15 May 1881 – 31 March 1971) was a Romanian painter, organizer of the National Museum of Art, and director of the Anastase Simu Museum. Bunescu was born in Caracal, Romanați County, the son of Ioniță Bunea, a craftsm ...

and the sculptors

Dimitrie Paciurea Dimitrie Paciurea (; 2 November (1873 or 1875) – 14 July 1932) was a Romanian sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically pr ...

Cornel Medrea Cornel Medrea (; March 8, 1888–July 25, 1964) was a Romanian sculptor. Biography Artistic studies He was born on March 8, 1888, in Miercurea Sibiului, then in Szeben County, Kingdom of Hungary, now Sibiu County, Romania. After moving with his ...

Ion Jalea Ion Jalea (; 19 May 1887 – 7 November 1983) was a Romanian sculptor, monumentalist, teacher, and member of the Romanian Academy. He fought in the First World War and lost his left hand in battle. Despite this challenge, he continued to sculpt ...

, 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 founded the ''Art of Romania'' association in Iași. During these years, he further developed his style as a landscape painter, and frequently visited the countryside in summer to paint portraits of peasants working in the fields and views of villages. He also painted

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

, portraits of various personalities, and nudes. In 1921, he became the president of the Artists' Union of Romania. In 1925, after a prolonged stay in the village of

Ilovăț Ilovăț is a commune located in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, 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 ...

Mehedinți County Mehedinți County () is a county () of Romania on the border with Serbia and Bulgaria. It is mostly located in the historical province of Oltenia, with one municipality (Orșova) and three communes (Dubova, Mehedinți, Dubova, Eșelnița, and Svi ...

, Ressu finished one of his best-known paintings, ''Ploughmen Resting'', currently housed in the Iași Museum of Art. Aside from his artistic pursuits, Camil Ressu was a professor at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

in Bucharest until 1941. From 1950, he was the honorary president of the Artists' Union and a professor at the ''Nicolae Grigorescu'' Art Institute. In 1955, Romania's Communist regime awarded him the title of "

People's Artist People's Artist is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states (and communist states in general), as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the U ...

", and he later became a member of the Romanian Academy. He died in Bucharest in 1962, and was buried in the city's

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

References

Valori ale culturii naționale: Camil Ressu: 130 ani de la naștere
amosnews.ro. 28 January 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ressu, Camil 1880 births 1962 deaths People from Galați 20th-century Romanian painters Aromanian painters Romanian people of Aromanian descent Aromanian politicians Social Democratic Party of Romania (1910–1918) politicians Titular members of the Romanian Academy Académie Julian alumni Burials at Bellu Cemetery Academic staff of the Bucharest National University of Arts