Dimitrie Serafim (1862 – 1931) was a Romanian painter in the

Academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

and

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...

styles.

Biography

Serafim was born in

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 ...

. His father, Anton Serafim (1838-1911) was a church painter of aromanian ancestry who originally came from Varna. His two brothers also became church painters. From 1882 to 1888, he studied in Bucharest with

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 ...

and

Gheorghe Tattarescu Gheorghe Tattarescu (; October 1818 – October 24, 1894) was a Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τ� ...

,Biographical notes
@ Artlne. After failing to receive a scholarship, his family provided him with an allowance to study at the

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

in Paris.Critical commentary
by "Tudor Octavian" @ Ziarul de Duminică. In 1892, he exhibited at the first "Salon de Arta Românească", finally receiving a stipend that enabled him to return to Paris, where he worked with

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ra ...

and

Jean-Jacques Henner Jean-Jacques Henner (5 March 1829 – 23 July 1905) was a French painter, noted for his use of sfumato and chiaroscuro in painting nudes, religious subjects and portraits. Biography Henner was born at Bernwiller (Alsace). He began his studies ...

. Under the influence of Tattarescu and

Nicolae Grigorescu Nicolae Grigorescu (; 15 May 1838 – 21 July 1907) was one of the founders of modern Romanian painting. There is a metro station named after Grigorescu in Bucharest. It was given his name in 1990, before which it was named after Communist army ...

, he had focused on Impressionism, but his later studies turned him to the Academic style and he began to favor large canvases on mythological themes. Many of his post-Paris works have been characterized as "

L'art pompier ''L'art pompier'' (literally 'fireman art') or ''style pompier'' is a derisive late-19th century French term for large 'official' academic art paintings of the time, especially historical or allegorical ones. The term derives from the helmets wi ...

". After 1901, he was a professor at the "Academia de Arte Frumoase" (now the Universitatea Națională de Arte București), but was apparently not a particularly distinguished teacher. His paintings were later criticized by

Petru Comarnescu __NOTOC__ Petru Comarnescu (born 23 November 1905, Iași - d. 27 November 1970, Bucharest) was a Romanian literary and art critic and translator. Born in Iași into a family that was related to the metropolitan bishop Veniamin Costache, he studi ...

for their "excessive pathos". Very few of his works are in museums.

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Serafim

Arcadja Auctions: More works by Serafim
1862 births 1931 deaths Artists from Bucharest Romanian painters Portrait painters Academic art Académie Julian alumni Romanian people of Greek descent People from the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia {{Romania-painter-stub