Constantin Lecca (; 4 August 1807 – 13 October 1887) was a Romanian painter and art professor. He was the first Romanian artist to create Western-style religious paintings. Although he worked in a variety of genres, including
history painting
History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...
, he is best known for his portraits.
Biography
He was born into a family of merchants. In 1827, he went to
Buda
Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
to study painting, but it is not known where or with whom he studied, so he may have been essentially self-taught. In any event, he made his first contacts with Romanian revolutionaries and became a friend of
Zaharia Carcalechi
Zaharia Carcalechi (1784 or 1787—1856) was an Imperial Austrian-born Wallachian publisher.
Born into an Aromanian family in Oradea, his father, a merchant, later moved the family to Brașov. Zaharia, after settling in the Hungarian capit ...
, contributing articles, translations and portraits to his ''Romanian Library''.
[Paul Rezeanu]
''Bicentenarul nașterii lui Constantin Lecca''
from the cultural magazine ''Ramuri'', published by the Writer's Union.
In 1833, he accepted an invitation to teach at the "Școala Centrală" (Central School) in
Craiova
)
, official_name = Craiova
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = From left: Dolj County Prefecture • Constantin Mihail Palace • Bibescu Manor House • Carol I National College • Museum of Oltenia • University of Craiova
, i ...
. Five years later, he became the founder and editor of one of Romania's first cultural magazines, ''Mozaicul''. He also started a family and was sufficiently successful to travel extensively, including a trip to Paris from 1847 to 1848, where he joined the circle of Romanian patriots, centered around
Nicolae Bălcescu and
Dimitrie Bolintineanu, among others.
When he returned home, he participated in the
Wallachian Revolution of 1848, having to quit his position and leave his family for fear of reprisals. After remaining under cover in his hometown for a time, he was able to secure a professorship at
Saint Sava National College, thanks to the intercession of
Petrache Poenaru
Petrache Poenaru (; 10 January 1799 – 2 October 1875) was a Romanian inventor of the Enlightenment era.
Poenaru, who had studied in Paris and Vienna and, later, completed his specialized studies in England, was a mathematician, physicist, eng ...
.
One of his best-known students was
Theodor Aman.
For the next fifteen years, he collaborated with
Mișu Popp, painting murals at several churches throughout Bucharest and the nearby countryside. Among them was the
Curtea Veche Church, the oldest religious building in Bucharest that has not been significantly altered. It was at this time that he also established his reputation as a portrait painter.
In 1870, illness forced him to retire and he painted little, although he lived for seventeen more years.
Selected paintings
File:Constantin Lecca - Batran.jpg, An Old Man
File:Constantin Lecca - Albanez.jpg, An Albanian
File:Constantin Lecca - Dragos Voda la vanatoarea zimbrului.jpg, Dragoș Vodă
Hunting Bison
File:Constantin Lecca - Portret de doamna descifrind o partitura.jpg, Lady Reading
a Musical Score
File:Constantin Lecca - Portretul Mariei Maiorescu.jpg, Titu Maiorescu's Mother, Maria
References
Further reading
* Paul Rezeanu, ''Constantin Lecca'', Editura Arcade, 2005
* Jack Brutaru, ''Constantin Lecca'', Editura de Stat Pentru Literatură şi Arta, 1956
External links
Revista de cultura ''Mozaicul'' new series
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lecca, Constantin
1807 births
1887 deaths
People from Brașov
Romanian muralists
Portrait painters
19th-century Romanian painters