Marcel Hermann Iancu
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Marcel Janco (, ; common rendition of the
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
name Marcel Hermann Iancu ; 24 May 1895 – 21 April 1984) was a Romanian and Israeli
visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...
, architect and art theorist. He was the co-inventor of
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
ism and a leading exponent of
Constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in the Soviet Union in t ...
in
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
. In the 1910s, he co-edited, with
Ion Vinea Ion Vinea (born Ioan Eugen Iovanaki, sometimes Iovanache; April 17, 1895 – July 6, 1964) was a Romanian poet, novelist, journalist, literary theorist, and political figure. He became active on the Modernist literature, modernist scene during hi ...
and
Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, c ...
, the Romanian art magazine ''
Simbolul ''Simbolul'' (Romanian for "The Symbol", ) was a Romanian avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between October and December 1912. Co-founded by writers Tristan Tzara and Ion Vinea, together with visual artist Marcel Janco, ...
''. Janco was a practitioner of
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
,
Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...
and
Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
before contributing his painting and stage design to Tzara's literary Dadaism. He parted with Dada in 1919, when he and painter
Hans Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (; ; 16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born Hans Peter Wilhelm Ar ...
founded a Constructivist circle, ''Das Neue Leben''. Reunited with Vinea, he founded ''
Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of the Romanian word for "the Contemporary", singular masculine form) was a Romanian (initially a weekly and later a monthly) avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between June 1922 ...
'', the influential tribune of the Romanian
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
, advocating a mix of Constructivism, Futurism and
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
. At ''Contimporanul'', Janco expounded a "revolutionary" vision of
urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...
. He designed some of the most innovative landmarks of downtown
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 worked in many art forms, including
illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...
, sculpture and
oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...
. Janco was one of the leading
Romanian Jewish The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after ...
intellectuals of his generation. Targeted by
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
persecution before and during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he
emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
to the British
Mandate for Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British Empire, British administration of the territories of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine and Emirate of Transjordan, Transjordanwhich had been Ottoman Syria, part of the Ottoman ...
in 1941. He won the
Dizengoff Prize The Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture is awarded annually by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality since 1937. The prize is named after Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv. According to the Tel Aviv municipality, the purpose of the pri ...
and
Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...
, and was a founder of
Ein Hod Ein Hod () is a village in Haifa District in northern Israel. Located at the foot of Mount Carmel and southeast of Haifa, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council and has the status of community settlement (Israel), comm ...
, a utopian
art colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission ...
.


Biography


Early life

Marcel Janco was born on 24 May 1895 in Bucharest to an
upper middle class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term '' lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class stra ...
Jewish family. His father, Hermann Zui Iancu, was a textile merchant. His mother, Rachel née Iuster, was from
Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
. The couple lived outside Bucharest's Jewish quarter, on Decebal Street.Sandqvist, p. 69 He was the oldest of four children. His brothers were Iuliu (Jules) and George. His sister, Lucia, was born in 1900. The Iancus moved from Decebal to Gândului Street, and then to Trinității, where they built one of the largest home-and-garden complexes in early 20th century Bucharest. In 1980, Janco revisited his childhood years, writing: "Born as I was in beautiful Romania, into a family of well-to-do people, I had the fortune of being educated in a climate of freedom and spiritual enlightenment. My mother, ..possessing a genuine musical talent, and my father, a stern man and industrious merchant, had created the conditions favorable for developing all of my aptitudes. ..I was of a sensitive and emotional nature, a withdrawn child who was predisposed to dreaming and meditating. ..I grew up ..dominated by a strong sense of humanity and social justice. The existence of disadvantaged, weak, people, of impoverished workers, of beggars, hurt me and, when compared to our family's decent condition, awoke in me a feeling of guilt." Vlad Solomon
"Confesiunea unui mare artist"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 559, January 2011
Janco attended Gheorghe Șincai School and studied drawing art with the Romanian Jewish painter and cartoonist
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, ...
. In his teenage years, the family traveled widely, from
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
to
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. At
Gheorghe Lazăr High School Gheorghe is a Romanian and Aromanian given name and surname. It is a variant of George, also a name in Romanian but with soft Gs. It may refer to: Given name * Gheorghe Adamescu (1869–1942), Romanian literary historian and bibliographer * Ghe ...
, he met several students who would become his artistic companions: Tzara (known then as ''S. Samyro''), Vinea (''Iovanaki''), writers Jacques G. Costin and Poldi Chapier. Janco also became friends with pianist
Clara Haskil Clara Haskil (7 January 1895 – 7 December 1960) was a Romanian classical pianist, renowned as an interpreter of the classical and early romantic repertoire. She was particularly noted for her performances and recordings of Mozart. She was als ...
, the subject of his first published drawing, which appeared in ''
Flacăra ''Flacăra'' (Romanian for "The Flame") is a weekly literary magazine published in Bucharest, Romania. History and profile ''Flacăra'' was started in 1911. The first issue was published on 22 October 1911. The founder was Constantin Banu and t ...
'' magazine in March 1912. Geo Șerban
"Un profil: Jacques Frondistul"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 144, November 2002
As a group, the students were under the influence of Romanian Symbolist clubs, which were at the time the more radical expressions of artistic rejuvenation in Romania. Marcel and Jules Janco's first moment of cultural significance took place in October 1912, when they joined Tzara in editing the Symbolist venue ''
Simbolul ''Simbolul'' (Romanian for "The Symbol", ) was a Romanian avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between October and December 1912. Co-founded by writers Tristan Tzara and Ion Vinea, together with visual artist Marcel Janco, ...
'', which managed to receive contributions from some of Romania's leading modern poets, from
Alexandru Macedonski Alexandru Macedonski (; also rendered as Al. A. Macedonski, Macedonschi or Macedonsky; 14 March 1854 – 24 November 1920) was a Romanian poet, novelist, dramatist and literary critic, known especially for having promoted French Symbolism (arts ...
to
Ion Minulescu Ion Minulescu (; 6 January 1881 – 11 April 1944) was a Romanian avant-garde poet, novelist, short story writer, journalist, literary critic, and playwright. Often publishing his works under the pseudonyms I. M. Nirvan and Koh-i-Noor (the latte ...
and
Adrian Maniu Adrian Maniu (February 6, 1891 – April 20, 1968) was a Romanian poet, prose writer, playwright, essayist, and translator. Born in Bucharest, his father Grigore, a native of Lugoj, was a jurist and professor of commercial law at the University o ...
. The magazine nevertheless struggled to find its voice, alternating
modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
with the more conventional Symbolism. Janco was perhaps the main graphic designer of ''Simbolul'', and he may even have persuaded his wealthy parents to support the venture (which closed down in early 1913). Unlike Tzara, who refused to look back on ''Simbolul'' with anything but embarrassment, Janco proudly regarded it as his first participation in artistic revolution. After the ''Simbolul'' moment, Marcel Janco worked at ''
Seara Seara is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina in the South region of Brazil. The Museu Entomológico Fritz Plaumann is located in the town. See also *List of municipalities in Santa Catarina This is a list of the municipalities in t ...
'' daily, where he took further training in draftsmanship.Sandqvist, p. 78 The newspaper took him in as illustrator, probably as a result of intercessions from Vinea, its literary columnist. Their ''Simbolul'' colleague Costin joined them as ''Seara''s cultural editor. Janco was also a visitor of the literary and art club meeting at the home of controversial politician and Symbolist poet
Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești (; born Alexandru Bogdan, also known as Ion Doican, Ion Duican and Al. Dodan; June 13, 1870 – May 12, 1922) was a Romanian Symbolism (arts), Symbolist poet, essayist, and art and literary critic, who was also known as ...
, who was for a while the manager of ''Seara''. It is possible that, during those years, Tzara and Janco first came to hear and be influenced by the absurdist prose of
Urmuz Urmuz (, pen name of Demetru Dem. Demetrescu-Buzău, also known as Hurmuz or Ciriviș, born Dimitrie Dim. Ionescu-Buzeu; March 17, 1883 – November 23, 1923) was a Romanian writer, lawyer and civil servant, who became a cult hero in Romania's av ...
, the lonesome civil clerk and amateur writer who would later become the hero of Romanian modernism. Years later, in 1923, Janco drew an ink portrait of Urmuz. In maturity, he also remarked that Urmuz was the original rebel figure in
Romanian literature Romanian literature () is the entirety of literature written by Romanian authors, although the term may also be used to refer to all literature written in the Romanian language or by any authors native to Romania. Early Romanian literature inc ...
. In the 1910s, Janco was also interested in the parallel development of
French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...
, and read passionately from such authors as
Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine ( ; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolism (movement), Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' ...
and
Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...
. Another immediate source of inspiration for his attitude on life was provided by
Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...
, an
anti-establishment An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958 by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...
movement created in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
by poet
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye de ...
and his artists' circle.Sandqvist, p. 237


Swiss journey and Dada events

Janco eventually decided to leave Romania, probably because he wanted to attend international events such as the ''
Sonderbund The Sonderbund War (, , ) of November 1847 was a civil war in Switzerland, then still a relatively loose confederacy of cantons. It ensued after seven Catholic cantons formed the ("separate alliance") in 1845 to protect their interests against ...
'' exhibit, but also because of quarrels with his father. In quick succession after the start of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Marcel, Jules and Tzara left Bucharest for
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
. According to various accounts, their departure may have been either a search for new opportunities (abundant in cosmopolitan Switzerland) or a discreet
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...
statement. Initially, the Jancos were registered with the
University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...
, where Marcel took Chemistry courses, before applying to study architecture at the
Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...
. His real ambition, later confessed, was to pursue more training in painting. Alina Mondini
"Dada trăiește"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 261, March 2005
The two brothers were soon joined by younger Georges Janco, but all three were left without any financial support when the war began hampering Europe's trade routes; until October 1917, both Jules and Marcel (who found it impossible to sell his paintings) earned a living as cabaret performers. Marcel was noted for performing selections from
Romanian folklore The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romania ...
and playing the
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
,Cernat, ''Avangarda'', p. 112 as well as for his rendition of ''
chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...
s''. It was during this time that the young artist and his brothers began using the consecrated version of the surname ''Iancu'', probably in hopes that it would sound more familiar to foreigners. In this context, the Romanians came into contact with
Hugo Ball Hugo Ball (; 22 February 1886 – 14 September 1927) was a German author, poet, and essentially the founder of the Dada movement in European art in Zürich in 1916. Among other accomplishments, he was a pioneer in the development of sound poetry. ...
and the other independent artists plying their trade at the Malerei building, which soon after became known as Cabaret Voltaire. Ball later recalled that four "Oriental" men introduced themselves to him late after a show—the description refers to Tzara, the older Jancos and, probably, the Romanian painter Arthur Segal. Ball found the young painter especially pleasant, and was impressed that, unlike his peers, Janco was melancholy rather than ironic; other participants remember him as a very handsome presence in the group, and he allegedly had the reputation of a "lady-killer". Accounts of what happened next differ, but it is presumed that, shortly after the four new participants were accepted, the performances became more daring, and the transition was made from Ball's Futurism to the virulent
anti-art Anti-art is a loosely used term applied to an array of concepts and attitudes that reject prior definitions of art and question art in general. Somewhat paradoxically, anti-art tends to conduct this questioning and rejection from the vantage poi ...
performances of Tzara and
Richard Huelsenbeck Carl Wilhelm Richard Hülsenbeck (aka Charles R. Hulbeck) (23 April 189220 April 1974) was a German writer, poet, and psychoanalyst born in Frankenau, Hessen-Nassau who was associated with the formation of the Dada movement. Life and work Afte ...
. With help from Segal and others, Marcel Janco was personally involved in decorating the Cabaret Voltaire. Its hectic atmosphere would inspire Janco to create an eponymous oil painting, dated 1916 and believed to have been lost. He was a major contributor to the cabaret's events: he notably carved the grotesque masks worn by performers on
stilts Stilts are poles, posts or pillars that allow a person or structure to stand at a height above the ground. In flood plains, and on beaches or unstable ground, buildings are often constructed on stilts to protect them from damage by water, wav ...
, gave "hissing concerts" and, in unison with Huelsenbeck and Tzara, improvised some of the first (and mostly
onomatopoeic Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as ''oink'', '' ...
) "simultaneous poems" to be read on stage. His work with masks became especially influential, opening up a new field of theatrical exploration for the
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
ists (as the Cabaret Voltaire crew began calling themselves), and earning special praise from Ball. Contrary to Ball's later claim of authorship, Janco is also credited with having tailored the "bishop dress", another one of the iconic products of early Dadaism. The actual birth of "Dadaism", at an unknown date, later formed the basis of disputes between Tzara, Ball, and Huelsenbeck. In this context, Janco is cited as a source for the story according to which the invention of the term "Dada" belonged exclusively to Tzara. Janco also circulated stories according to which their shows were attended for informative purposes by
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
theorist
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
and psychiatrist
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...
. His various contributions were harnessed by Dada's international effort of self-promotion. In April 1917, he welcomed the Dada affiliation of Switzerland's own
Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...
, calling Klee's contribution to the Dada exhibit a "great event".
Kay Larson Kay Larson is an American art critic, columnist, author, and Buddhist practitioner. She wrote a column of art criticism for ''New York'' magazine for 14 years. Her writing about art and Buddhism has appeared in numerous publications, including ...
, "Art. Signs and Symbols", in ''
New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...
'', 2 March 1987, p. 96
His mask designs were popular beyond Europe, and inspired similar creations by
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
's
Germán Cueto Germán Cueto (February 8 or 9, 1883 – February 14, 1975) was a Mexican artist. He was part of the initial wave of artistic activity following the Mexican Revolution. However, his stay in Europe from 1927 to 1932 moved him into more European a ...
, the " Stridentist" painter-puppeteer. The Dadaist popularization effort received lukewarm responses in Janco's native country, where the traditionalist press expressed alarm at being confronted with Dada precepts. Vinea himself was ambivalent about the activities of his two friends, preserving a link with poetic tradition which made his publication in Tzara's press impossible. In a letter to Janco, Vinea spoke about having personally presented one of Janco's posters to modernist poet and art critic
Tudor Arghezi Ion Nae Theodorescu (21 May 1880 – 14 July 1967) was a Romanian writer who wrote under the pen name Tudor Arghezi (. He is best known for his unique contribution to poetry and children's literature. Biography Early life He graduated from Sai ...
: " esaid, critically, that you cannot say whether a person is talented or not on the basis of only one drawing. Rubbish." Exhibited at the Dada group shows, Janco also illustrated the Dada advertisements, including an April 1917 program which features his sketches of Ball, Tzara and Ball's actress wife
Emmy Hennings Emmy Hennings (born Emma Maria Cordsen, 17 January 1885 – 10 August 1948) was a German poet and performing artist, and co-founder of the Dadaist Cabaret Voltaire with her second husband Hugo Ball. Known as the "star of the show," Hennings h ...
. The event featured his production of
Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright and teacher, best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expre ...
's farce ''Sphinx und Strohmann'', for which he was also the
stage designer Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including plays and musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, where it may be referred to as prod ...
, and which was turned into one of the most notorious among Dada provocations. Janco was the director and mask designer for the Dada production for another one of Kokoschka's plays, ''Job''. He also returned as Tzara's illustrator, producing the
linocut Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of relief printing in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief printing, relief surface. A design i ...
s to ''The First Heavenly Adventure of Mr. Antipyrine'', having already created the props for its theatrical production.


"Two-speeds" Dada and ''Das Neue Leben''

As early as 1917, Marcel Janco began taking his distance from the movement he had helped to generate. His work, in both
woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
and linocut, continued to be used as the illustration to Dada almanacs for another two years, but he was more often than not in disagreement with Tzara, while also trying to diversify his style. As noted by critics, he found himself split between the urge to mock traditional art and the belief that something just as elaborate needed to take its place: in the conflict between Tzara's
nihilism Nihilism () encompasses various views that reject certain aspects of existence. There have been different nihilist positions, including the views that Existential nihilism, life is meaningless, that Moral nihilism, moral values are baseless, and ...
and Ball's
art for art's sake Art for art's sake—the usual English rendering of (), a French slogan from the latter half of the 19th century—is a phrase that expresses the philosophy that 'true' art is utterly independent of all social values and utilitarian functions, b ...
, Janco tended to support the latter. In a 1966 text, he further assessed that there were "two speeds" in Dada, and that the "spiritual violence" phase had eclipsed the "best Dadas", including his fellow painter
Hans Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (; ; 16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born Hans Peter Wilhelm Ar ...
. Janco recalled: "We anco and Tzaracouldn't agree any more on the importance of Dada, and the misunderstandings accumulated." There were, he noted, "dramatic fights" sparked by Tzara's taste for "bad jokes and scandal". The artist preserved a grudge, and his retrospective views on Tzara's role in Zürich are often sarcastic, depicting him as an excellent organizer and vindictive self-promoter, but not truly a man of culture; a few years into the scandal, he even started a rumor that Tzara was illegally trading in
opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...
. As noted in 2007 by Romanian literary historian
Paul Cernat Paul Cernat (born August 5, 1972 in Bucharest) is a Romanian essayist and literary critic. He has a Ph.D. summa cum laude in philology. Cernat has been a member of the Writers' Union of Romania since 2009. As of 2013, he is lecturer of Romanian l ...
: "All the efforts by Ion Vinea to reunite them ..would be in vain. Iancu and Tzara would ignore (or banter) each other for the rest of their lives".Cernat, ''Avangarda'', p. 130 With this split, there came a certain classicization in Marcel Janco's discourse. In February 1918, Janco was even invited to lecture at his ''
alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...
'', where he spoke about modernism and
authenticity in art Authenticity in art is manifested in the different ways that a work of art, or an artistic performance, can be considered authentic. The initial distinction is between ''nominal authenticity'' and ''expressive authenticity''. In the first sense ...
as related phenomena, drawing comparisons between the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
and
African art African art encompasses modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual cultures originating from indigenous African diaspora, African communities across the African continent. The definition may also include the ar ...
. However, having decided to focus on his other projects, Janco nearly abandoned his studies, and failed his final exam. In this context, he moved closer to the cell of post-Dada Constructivists exhibiting collectively as ''Neue Kunst'' ("New Art")—Arp, Fritz Baumann, Hans Richter, Otto Morach. As a result, Janco was made a member of ''Das Neue Leben'' faction, which supported an educational approach to modern art, coupled with
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
ideals and Constructivist aesthetics. In its
art manifesto An art manifesto is a public declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of an artist or artistic movement. Manifestos are a standard feature of the various movements in the modernist avant-garde and are still written today. Art manifestos ...
, the group declared its ideal of "rebuild ngthe human community" in preparation for the end of
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
. Janco was even affiliated with ''Artistes Radicaux'', a more politically inclined section of ''Das Neue Leben'', where his colleagues included other former Dadas: Arp, Hans Richter,
Viking Eggeling Viking Eggeling (21 October 1880 – 19 May 1925) was a Swedish avant-garde artist and filmmaker connected to dadaism, Constructivism, and abstract art and was one of the pioneers in absolute film and visual music. His 1924 film '' Diagonal-S ...
. The ''Artistes Radicaux'' were in touch with the
German Revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, and Richter, who worked for the short-lived
Bavarian Soviet Republic The Bavarian Soviet Republic (or Bavarian Council Republic), also known as the Munich Soviet Republic (), was a short-lived unrecognised socialist state in Bavaria during the German revolution of 1918–1919. A group of communists and anarchist ...
, even offered Janco and the others virtual teaching positions 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 ...
under a workers' government.


Between Béthune and Bucharest

Janco made his final contribution to the Dada adventure in April 1919, when he designed the masks for a major Dada event organized by Tzara at the Saal zur Kaufleutern, and which degenerated into an infamous mass brawl. By May, he was mandated by ''Das Neue Leben'' to create and publish a journal for the movement. Although this never saw print, the preparations placed Janco in contact with the representatives of various modernist currents: Arthur Segal,
Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...
,
Alexej von Jawlensky Alexej Georgewitsch von Jawlensky (; 13 March 1864 – 15 March 1941), surname also spelt as Yavlensky, was a Russian expressionist painter active in Germany. He was a key member of the New Munich Artist's Association ( Neue Künstlervereinigung ...
, Oscar Lüthy and
Enrico Prampolini Enrico Prampolini (20 April 1894, Modena – 17 June 1956, Rome) was an Italian Futurist painter, sculptor and scenographer. He assisted in the design of the Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution and was (like Gerardo Dottori) active in Aeropain ...
. This period also witnessed the start of a friendly relationship between Janco and the
Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
artists who published in
Herwarth Walden Herwarth Walden (actual name Georg Lewin; 16 September 1879 – 31 October 1941) was a German expressionist artist and art expert in many disciplines. He is broadly acknowledged as one of the most important discoverers and promoters of German av ...
's magazine ''
Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German List of avant-garde magazines, avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 a ...
''.Grigorescu, p. 389 A little more than a year after the end of war, in December 1919, Marcel and Jules left Switzerland for
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. After passing through
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 ...
, the painter was in
Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a town in northern France, Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department. Geography Béthune is located in the Provinces of Fran ...
, where he married Amélie Micheline "Lily" Ackermann, in what was described as a gesture of fronde against his father. The girl was a Swiss Catholic of lowly condition, who had first met the Jancos at ''Das Neue Leben''. Janco was probably in Béthune for a longer while: he was listed as one of those considered for helping to rebuild war-affected
French Flanders French Flanders ( ; ; ) is a part of the historical County of Flanders, where Flemish—a Low Franconian dialect cluster of Dutch—was (and to some extent, still is) traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day northern French regi ...
, redesigned the Chevalier-Westrelin store in
Hinges A hinge is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation, with all ...
, and was perhaps the co-owner of an architectural enterprise, ''Ianco & Déquire''. It is not unlikely that Janco followed with curiosity the activities of Dada's Parisian cell, which were overseen by Tzara and his pupil
André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...
, and he is known to have impressed Breton with his own architectural projects.Sandqvist, p. 98 He was also announced, with Tzara, as a contributor to the post-Dada magazine ''
L'Esprit Nouveau ''L'Esprit Nouveau'' () was a magazine founded by architect Le Corbusier, poet Paul Dermée, and painter Amédée Ozenfant Amédée Ozenfant (15 April 1886 – 4 May 1966) was a French cubist painter and writer. Together with Charl ...
'', published by
Paul Dermée Paul Dermée (1886–1951) was a Belgian writer, poet, literary critic. Born Camille Janssen in Liège, Belgium in 1886, he died in Paris in 1951. He knew the painters Picasso, Juan Gris, Sonia and Robert Delaunay and the poets Valéry Larbaud a ...
. Nevertheless, Janco was invited to exhibit elsewhere, rallying with ''
Section d'Or The Section d'Or ("Golden Section"), also known as Groupe de Puteaux or Puteaux Group, was a collective of painters, sculptors, poets and critics associated with Cubism and Orphism. Based in the Parisian suburbs, the group held regular meetings ...
'', a Cubist collective. Late in 1921, Janco and his wife left for Romania, where they had a second marriage to seal their union in front of familial disputes. Janco was soon reconciled with his parents, and, although still unlicensed as an architect, began receiving his first commissions, some of which came from within his own family.Doina Anghel
''Urban Route. Marcel Iancu: The Beginnings of Modern Architecture in Bucharest''
E-cart.ro Association, 2008
His first known design, constructed in 1922 and officially registered as the work of one I. Rosenthal, is a group of seven alley houses, 3 pairs and corner residence, on his father Hermann Iancu's property, at 79 Maximilian Popper Street (prev Trinității Street 29); one of these became his new home. Essentially traditional in style, they are also somewhat stylised, recalling the plainness of the English Arts & Crafts or the Czech 'Cubist' style. Soon after making his comeback, Marcel Janco reconnected himself with the local
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
salons, and had his first Romanian exhibits, at the ''Maison d'Art'' club in Bucharest. His friends and collaborators, among them actress Dida Solomon and journalist-director Sandu Eliad, would describe him as exceptionally charismatic and knowledgeable.Sandqvist, p. 343 In December 1926, he was present at the Hasefer Art Show in Bucharest.Aurel D. Broșteanu, "Cronica artistică. Expoziția inaugurală Hasefer", in ''
Viața Românească ''Viața Românească'' (, "The Romanian Life") is a monthly literary magazine published in Romania. Formerly the platform of the left-wing traditionalist trend known as poporanism, it is now one of the Writers' Union of Romania's main venues. ...
'', Nr. 12/1926, p. 414
Around that year, Janco took commissions as an art teacher at his studio in Bucharest—in the words of his pupil, the future painter
Hedda Sterne Hedda Sterne (August 4, 1910 – April 8, 2011) was a Romanian-born American artist who was an active member of the New York School (art), New York School of painters. Her work is often associated with Abstract Expressionism and Surrealism.Stern ...
, these were informal: "We were given easels, etc. but nobody looked, nobody advised us."


''Contimporanul'' beginnings

From his position as Constructivist mentor and international artist, Janco proceeded to network between Romanian modernist currents, and joined up with his old colleague Vinea. Early in 1922, the two men founded a political and art magazine, the influential ''
Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of the Romanian word for "the Contemporary", singular masculine form) was a Romanian (initially a weekly and later a monthly) avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between June 1922 ...
''—historically, the longest-lived venue of the Romanian avant-garde. Janco was abroad that year, as one of guests at the First Constructivist Congress, convened by Dutch artist
Theo van Doesburg Theo van Doesburg (; born Christian Emil Marie Küpper; 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch painter, writer, poet and architect. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl. He married three times. Personal life Theo van Do ...
in
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
. He was in Zürich around 1923, receiving the visit of a compatriot, writer
Victor Eftimiu Victor Eftimiu (; 24 January 1889 – 27 November 1972) was a Romanian poet and playwright. He was a contributor to ''Sburătorul'', a Romanian literary magazine. His works have been performed in the State Jewish Theater of Romania. Eftimi ...
, who declared him a hard-working artist able to reconcile the modern with the traditional. ''Contimporanul'' followed Janco's Constructivist affiliation. Initially a venue for socialist satire and political commentary, it reflected Vinea's strong dislike for the ruling National Liberal Party. However, by 1923, the journal became increasingly cultural and artistic in its revolt, headlining with translations from van Doesburg and Breton, publishing Vinea's own homage to Futurism, and featuring illustrations and international notices which Janco may have handpicked himself. Some researchers have attributed the change exclusively to the painter's growing say in editorial policy. Mariana Vida
"Ipostaze ale modernismului (II)"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 504, December 2009
Janco was at the time in correspondence with Dermée, who was to contribute the ''Contimporanul'' anthology of modern
French poetry French poetry () is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone literature, Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France. French prosody and poetics The modern French language does not ...
, and with fellow painter
Michel Seuphor Fernand Berckelaers (10 March 1901, in Borgerhout – 12 February 1999, in Paris), pseudonym Michel Seuphor (anagram of Orpheus), was a Belgian painter. Seuphor established a literary magazine, '' Het Overzicht'', in Antwerp in 1921. He moved i ...
, who collected Janco's Constructivist sculptures. He maintained a link between ''Contimporanul'' and ''Der Sturm'', which republished his drawings alongside the contributions of various Romanian avant-garde writers and artists. The reciprocal popularization was taken up by ''Ma'', the
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
-based tribune of Hungarian modernists, which also published samples of Janco's graphics. Owing to Janco's resentments and Vinea's apprehension, the magazine never covered the issuing of new Dada manifestos, and responded critically to Tzara's new versions of Dada history. Marcel Janco also took charge of ''Contimporanul''s business side, designing its offices on Imprimerie Street and overseeing the publication of postcards. Over the years, his own contributions to ''Contimporanul'' came to include some 60 illustrations, some 40 articles on art and architectural topics, and a number of his architectural designs or photographs of buildings erected from them. He oversaw one of the journal's first special issues, dedicated to "Modern Architecture", and notably hosting his own contributions to architectural theory, as well as his design of a "country workshop" for Vinea's use. Other issues also featured his essay on film and theater, his furniture designs, and his interview with the French Cubist
Robert Delaunay Robert Delaunay (; 12 April 1885 – 25 October 1941) was a French artist of the School of Paris movement; who, with his wife Sonia Delaunay and others, co-founded the Orphism (art), Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and g ...
. Janco was also largely responsible for the ''Contimporanul'' issue on Surrealism, which included his interviews with writers such as Joseph Delteil, and his inquiry about the publisher Simon Krà. Together with Romanian Cubist painter
M. H. Maxy Max Hermann Maxy (also known as M. H. Maxy, born Max Herman; October 26, 1895 – July 19, 1971) was a Romanian painter, art professor, scenographer, and professor of German-Jewish descent. Early life and education Maxy was born in Brăila ...
, Janco was personally involved in curating the ''Contimporanul'' International Art Exhibit of 1924. This event reunited the major currents of Europe's modern art, reflecting ''Contimporanul''s eclectic agenda and international profile. It hosted samples of works by leading modernists: the Romanians Segal,
Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian sculptor, painter, and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century and a pioneer of modernism ...
,
Victor Brauner Victor Brauner (, also spelled Viktor Brauner; 15 June 1903 – 12 March 1966) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of the surrealism (art), surrealist movement. Early life He was born in Piatra Neamț, Romania, the son of a Jewish timber manufac ...
,
János Mattis-Teutsch János Mattis-Teutsch, also spelled Máttis-Teutsch and Mátis-Teutsch (; 13 August 1884 – 17 March 1960) was a Romanian painter, sculptor, graphic artist, art critic, and poet. Best known for his ''Seelenblumen'' ("Soulflowers") cycle of ...
,
Milița Petrașcu Milița Petrașcu, also known as Militza Pătrascu (31 December 1892 25 January 1976), was a Romanian portrait artist and sculptor, part of the Romanian "avant-garde movement" during the interwar period which evolved around the "Contimporanul" magaz ...
, alongside Arp, Eggeling, Klee, Richter,
Lajos Kassák Lajos Kassák (March 21, 1887 – July 22, 1967) was a Hungarian poet, novelist, painter, essayist, editor, theoretician of the avant-garde, and translator. Self-taught, he became a writer within the socialist movement and published journa ...
and
Kurt Schwitters Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters (20 June 1887 – 8 January 1948) was a German artist. He was born in Hanover, Germany, but lived in exile from 1937. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including Dadaism, Constructivism (a ...
. The exhibit included samples of Janco's work in furniture design, and featured his managerial contribution to a Dada-like opening party, co-produced by him, Maxy, Vinea and journalist
Eugen Filotti Eugen Filotti (July 28 (July 17 O.S.) 1896 – June 1, 1975) was a Romanian diplomat, journalist and writer. As a diplomat he worked at the League of Nations in Geneva and then as minister plenipotentiary in Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, and Hungary ...
. He was also involved in preparing the magazine's theatrical parties, including the 1925 production of ''A Merry Death'', by
Nikolai Evreinov Nikolai Nikolayevich Evreinov (; February 13, 1879 – September 7, 1953) was a Russians, Russian theatre director, director, dramatist and theatre practitioner associated with Russian Symbolism. Life The son of a French woman and a Russian eng ...
; Janco was the set and
costume design Costume design is the process of selecting or creating clothing for a performers. A costume may be designed from scratch or may be designed by combining existing garments. "Costume" may also refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a ...
er, and Eliad the director. An unusual echo of the exhibit came in 1925, when ''Contimporanul'' published a photograph of Brâncuși's ''Princess X'' sculpture. The
Romanian Police The Romanian Police (, , ) is the national police force and main civil law enforcement agency in Romania. It is subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and it is led by a General Inspector with the rank of Secretary of State. Duties T ...
saw this as a sexually explicit artwork, and Vinea and Janco were briefly taken into custody. Janco was a dedicated admirer of Brâncuși, visiting him in Paris and writing in ''Contimporanul'' about Brâncuși's "spirituality of form" theories. In their work as cultural campaigners, Vinea and Janco even collaborated with ''75 HP'', a periodical edited by poet
Ilarie Voronca Ilarie Voronca (pen name of Eduard Isidor Marcus; 31 December 1903, Brăila – 8 April 1946, Paris) was a Romanian avant-garde poet and essayist. Life and career Voronca was of History of the Jews in Romania, Jewish ethnicity. In his early yea ...
, which was nominally anti-''Contimporanul'' and pro-Dada. Janco was also an occasional presence in the pages of ''
Punct Punct may refer to: *Punct (magazine), Romanian art magazine *PÜNCT ''PÜNCT'' is a two-player strategy board game. It is the sixth release in the GIPF project, ''GIPF'' project of seven abstract strategy games, although it is considered the ...
'', the Dadaist-Constructivist paper put out by the socialist
Scarlat Callimachi Scarlat Callimachi or Calimachi (; nicknamed ''Prințul Roșu'', "the Red Prince"; September 20, 1896 – June 2, 1975) was a Romanian journalist, essayist, futurist poet, trade unionist, and communist activist, a member of the Callimachi f ...
. It was here that he notably published articles on architectural styles and a
lampoon Lampoon may refer to: *Parody, a satirical imitative creative work *Amphol Lampoon (born 1963), Thai actor and singer *''The Harvard Lampoon'', an American humor magazine ** ''National Lampoon'' (magazine), an American humor magazine ***National L ...
, in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, titled ''T.S.F. Dialogue entre le bourgeois mort et l'apôtre de la vie nouvelle'' ("Cablegram. The Dialogue between a Dead Bourgeois and the Apostle of New Living"). In addition, his graphic work was popularized by Voronca's other magazine, the Futurist tribune ''Integral''. Janco was also called upon by authors
Ion Pillat Ion Pillat (31 March 1891 – 17 April 1945) was a distinguished Romanian poet. He is best known for his volume ''Pe Argeș în sus'' (''Upstream on the Argeș'') and ''Poeme într-un vers'' (''One-line poems''), and for his embryonic love f ...
and
Perpessicius Perpessicius (; pen name of Dumitru S. Panaitescu, also known as Panait Șt. Dumitru, D. P. Perpessicius and Panaitescu-Perpessicius; October 22, 1891 – March 29, 1971) was a Romanian literary historian and critic, poet, essayist and fiction wr ...
to illustrate their ''Antologia poeților de azi'' ("The Anthology of Present-Day Poets"). His portraits of the writers included, drawn in sharply modernist style, were received with amusement by the traditionalist public.
George Topîrceanu George Topîrceanu (; March 20, 1886 – May 7, 1937) was a Romanian poet, short story writer, and humourist. Biography He was born in Bucharest, the son of Ion Topîrceanu, a furrier and his wife, Paraschiva (née Cosma), a carpet weaver. The f ...
, ''Scrieri'', Vol. II,
Editura Minerva Editura Minerva is one of the largest publishing houses in Romania. Located in Bucharest, it is known, among other things, for publishing classic Romanian literature, children's books, and scientific books. The company was founded in Bucharest in ...
, Bucharest, 1983, pp. 360–361.
In 1926, Janco further antagonized the traditionalists by publishing sensual drawings for
Camil Baltazar Camil Baltazar (; pen name of Leibu Goldenstein or Leopold Goldstein; August 25, 1902 in FocșaniAccording to some sources, he was born in Moara, Putna County. – April 27, 1977 in Bucharest) was a Romanian-Jewish poet A poet is a per ...
's book of erotic poems, ''Strigări trupești lîngă glezne'' ("Bodily Exhortations around the Ankles").


Functionalist breakthrough

Some time in the late 1920s, Janco set up an architectural studio ''Birou de Studii Moderne'' (Office of Modern Studies), a partnership with his brother Jules (Iulius), a venture often identified by the name ''Marcel Iuliu Iancu'', combining the two brothers as one. Heralding the change of architectural tastes with his articles in ''Contimporanul'', Marcel Janco described Romania's capital as a chaotic, inharmonious, backward town, in which the traffic was hampered by carts and
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
s, a city in need of Modernist revolution. Profiting from the building boom of
Greater Romania Greater Romania () is the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union or the related pan-nationalist ideal of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers.Irina LivezeanuCultural Politics in Greate ...
, and the rising popularity of functionalism, Janco's ''Birou'' received commissions from 1926 onwards that were occasional and small-scale. Compared with mainstream functionalist architects like
Horia Creangă Horia Creangă (20 July 1892 – 1 August 1943) was a Romanian architect and key figure of the modernist movement in Romania. Described as "the true founder of the modernist age" in his native county, he is best known as the designer of the first ...
,
Duiliu Marcu Duiliu Marcu (25 March 1885 – 9 March 1966) was a Romanian architect, one of the most well known and prolific of the interwar period. With a career spanning from 1912 to 1966, he is said to have designed 150 public and private projects across Rom ...
or Jean Monda, the Jancos had a decisive role in popularizing the functionalist versions of Constructivism or Cubism, designing the first examples of this new stylistic approach to be built in Romania. The first clear, though unheralded, expression of Modernism in Romania, was the construction in 1926 of a small apartment building near his earlier houses, also built for his father Herman, with an apartment for Herman, one for Marcel as well as his rooftop studio. The structure simply follows the curved line of the corner lot, the severe elevations devoid of decoration, enlivened only by a triangular bay window and balcony above, and a scheme of different colours (now lost) applied to the three wall areas differentiated by slight variations on depth. A major breakthrough was his Villa for Jean Fuchs, built in 1927 on Negustori Street. Its cosmopolitan owner allowed the artist complete freedom in designing the building, and a budget of 1 million lei, and he created what is often described as the first Constructivist (and therefore Modernist) structure in Bucharest.Sandqvist, pp. 341–342 The design was quite unlike anything seen in Bucharest before, the front facade composed of complex overlapping, projecting and receding rectangular volumes, horizontal and corner windows, three circular porthole windows, and stepped flat roof areas including a rooftop lookout. The result caused a stir in the neighborhood, and the press found it to be reminiscent of a "morgue" and a "crematorium". The architect and his patrons were undeterred by such reactions, and the Janco firm received commissions to build similar villas. Until 1933, when Marcel Janco finally received his certification, his designs continued to be officially recorded under different names, most usually attributed to a Constantin Simionescu. This had little effect on the ''Birou''s output: by the time of his last known design in 1938, Janco and his brother are thought to have designed some 40 permanent or temporary structures in Bucharest, many in the wealthier northern residential districts of Aviatorilor and Primaverii, but by far the largest concentration in or to the north of the Jewish Quarter, just the east of the old town centre, reflecting the family and community ties of many of his commissions. A series of modernist villas for sometimes wealthy clients followed despite the Fuchs controversy. The Villa Henri Daniel (1927, demolished) on Strada Ceres returned to the almost unadorned flat facade, enlivened by a play of horizontal and vertical lines, while the Maria Lambru Villa (1928), on Popa Savu Street, was a simplified version of the Fuchs design. The Florica Chihăescu house on
Șoseaua Kiseleff ''Șoseaua Kiseleff'' (''Kiseleff Road'') is a major road in Bucharest, Romania. Situated in Sector 1 (Bucharest), Sector 1, the boulevard runs as a northward continuation of Calea Victoriei. History The road was created in 1832 by Pavel Kisel ...
(1929) is surprisingly formal with a central porch below strip windows, and also marks collaboration with Milița Petrașcu from the 1924 exhibition who provided some statuary (now lost). The Villa Bordeanu (1930) on Labirint Street plays with symmetrical formality while the Villa Paul Iluta (1931, altered) employs bold rectangular volumes over three floors, as does the Paul Wexler Villa (1931), on Silvestru and Grigore Mora streets. The Jean Juster Villa (1931) nearby at Strada Silvestru 75 combines the bold rectangular volumes with a projecting semi-circular one. Another project was a house for his ''
Simbolul ''Simbolul'' (Romanian for "The Symbol", ) was a Romanian avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between October and December 1912. Co-founded by writers Tristan Tzara and Ion Vinea, together with visual artist Marcel Janco, ...
'' friend Poldi Chapier; located on Ipătescu Alley and finished in 1929, this is occasionally described as "Bucharest's first Cubist lodging", even though the Villa Fuchs was two year earlier. In 1931 he designed his first tenement/apartment building at Strada Caimatei 20, a small stack of 3 apartments of boldly projecting forms, developed himself for his family with other floors to rent, in the name of his wife Clara Janco. It is thought the studios for his Birou were on the top floor, and the design was published in ''Contimporanul'' in 1932. Two more followed in 1933 on Strada Paleologu next to each other, simpler in conception, with a second one in his wife's name, and one for Jaques Costin - which features a bas relief panel of women working with wool by Militia Pătraşcu by the door. These projects are joined by a private
sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...
of
Predeal Predeal (; ) is a town in Brașov County, Muntenia, Romania. Predeal, a mountain resort town, is the highest town in Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, Muntenia at an elevation of over . The town administers three villages: Pârâu ...
, Janco's only design outside of Bucharest. Built in 1934 at the base of a wooded hill, it has the sweeping horizontals of international streamlined Modernism, with Janco's innovation of diagonally placed rooms creating a striking zigzag effect. Janco had one daughter from his marriage to Lily Ackermann, who signed her name
Josine Ianco-Starrels Josine Ianco-Starrels (October 17, 1926 – April 8, 2019) was a Romanian-born American art curator who worked as a museum director in Los Angeles, California. Background Ianco-Starrels was born in Bucharest in 1926 and her family fled to Isra ...
(b. 1926), and was raised a Catholic. Her sister Claude-Simone had died in infancy.Sandqvist, p. 340 By the mid-1920s, Marcel and Lily Janco were estranged: already by the time of their divorce (1930), she was living by herself in a
Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...
home designed by Janco. The artist remarried to Clara "Medi" Goldschlager, the sister of his old friend Jacques G. Costin. The couple had a girl, Deborah Theodora ("Dadi" for short). With his new family, Janco lived a comfortable life, traveling throughout Europe and spending his summer vacations in the resort town of
Balchik Balchik ( ; , ) is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, town and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the Southern Dobruja area of northeastern Bulgaria. It is in Dobrich Province, 35 km southeast of Dobrich and 42 km no ...
. The Jancos and the Costins also shared ownership of a country estate: known as ''Jacquesmara'',Sandqvist, p. 378 it was located in Budeni-Comana,
Giurgiu County Giurgiu () is a county ('' județ'') of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Giurgiu. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 265,494 and the population density was . * Romanians – 96% * Romani ...
. The house is especially known for hosting
Clara Haskil Clara Haskil (7 January 1895 – 7 December 1960) was a Romanian classical pianist, renowned as an interpreter of the classical and early romantic repertoire. She was particularly noted for her performances and recordings of Mozart. She was als ...
during one of her triumphant returns to Romania.


Between ''Contimporanul'' and ''Criterion''

Janco was still active as the art editor of ''Contimporanul'' during its final and most eclectic series of 1929, when he took part in selecting new young contributors, such as publicist and art critic Barbu Brezianu. At that junction, the magazine triumphantly published a "Letter to Janco", in which the formerly traditionalist architect George Matei Cantacuzino spoke about his colleague's decade-long contribution to the development of Romanian functionalism. Beyond his ''Contimporanul'' affiliation, Janco rallied with the Bucharest collective ''Arta Nouă'' ("New Art"), also joined by Maxy, Brauner, Mattis-Teutsch, Petrașcu, Nina Arbore, Cornelia Babic-Daniel, Alexandru Brătășanu, Olga Greceanu, Corneliu Michăilescu, Claudia Millian, Tania Șeptilici and others. Janco and some other regulars of ''Contimporanul'' also reached out to the Surrealist faction at ''
unu ''unu'' (Romanian for "one"; lower case used on purpose) was the name of an avant-garde art and literary magazine, published in Romania from April 1928 to December 1932. Edited by writers Sașa Pană and , it was dedicated to Dada and Surrealis ...
'' review—Janco is notably mentioned as a "contributor" on the cover of ''unu'', Summer 1930 issue, where all 8 containing pages were purposefully left blank. Janco prepared woodcuts for the first edition of Vinea's novel ''Paradisul suspinelor'' ("The Paradise of Sobs"), printed with Editura Cultura Națională in 1930, Geo Șerban
"Marcel Iancu la Berlin"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 92, November 2011
and for Vinea's poems in their magazine versions. His drawings were used in illustrating two volumes of interviews with writers, compiled by ''Contimporanul'' sympathizer
Felix Aderca Felix Aderca (; born Froim-Zelig ''Froim-ZeilicAderca; March 13, 1891 – December 12, 1962), , in '' Realitatea Evreiască'', Nr. 280-281 (1080-1081), August–September 2007 Boris Marian, , in '' Realitatea Evreiască'', Nr. 292-293 (1092-109 ...
, and Costin's only volume of prose, the 1931 ''Exerciții pentru mâna dreaptă'' ("Right-handed Exercises").
Paul Cernat Paul Cernat (born August 5, 1972 in Bucharest) is a Romanian essayist and literary critic. He has a Ph.D. summa cum laude in philology. Cernat has been a member of the Writers' Union of Romania since 2009. As of 2013, he is lecturer of Romanian l ...

"Urmuziene și nu numai. Plagiatele 'urmuziene' ale unui critic polonez. Recuperarea lui Jacques G. Costin"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 151, January 2003
Janco attended the 1930 reunion organized by ''Contimporanul'' in honor of the visiting Futurist
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye de ...
, and gave a welcoming speech. Marinetti was again praised by the ''Contimporanul'' group (Vinea, Janco, Petrașcu, Costin) in February 1934, in an
open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...
stating: "We are soldiers of the same army." These developments created a definitive split in Romania's avant-garde movement, and contributed to ''Contimporanul''s eventual fall: the Surrealists and socialists at ''unu'' condemned Vinea and the rest for having established, through Marinetti, a connection with the
Italian fascists Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...
. After the incidents, Janco's art was openly questioned by ''unu'' contributors such as
Stephan Roll Stephan Roll (pen name of Gheorghe Dinu, also credited as Stéphane, Stefan or Ștefan Roll; June 5, 1904 – May 14, 1974) was a Romanian poet, editor, film critic, and communist militant. An autodidact, he played host to the Romanian avant-garde ...
. Although ''Contimporanul'' went bankrupt, an artistic faction of the same name survived until 1936. During the interval, Janco found other backers in the specialized art and architecture magazines, such as ''Orașul'', ''Arta și Orașul'', ''Rampa'', ''Ziarul Științelor și al Călătoriilor''. In 1932, his villa designs were included by Alberto Sartoris in his guide to modern architecture, ''Gli elementi dell'architettura razionale''.
Andrei Pippidi Andrei-Nicolae Pippidi (born 12 March 1948, in Bucharest) is a Romanian historian and professor emeritus at the University of Bucharest. He specialised in South-Eastern European history of the 15th–19th century, in Romanian history of the Middl ...

"În apărarea lui Marcel Iancu"
, in ''
Dilema Veche ''Dilema veche'' ( English: "Old Dilemma") is a Romanian weekly magazine that covers culture, social topics, and politics. It was founded in 2004 as the successor to the magazine ''Dilema'', which was founded in 1993. Both magazines were founded by ...
'', Nr. 357, December 2010
The early 1930s also witnessed Janco's participation with the literary and art society ''
Criterion Criterion (: criteria) may refer to: General * Criterion, Oregon, a historic unincorporated community in the United States * Criterion Place, a proposed skyscraper in West Yorkshire, England * Criterion Restaurant, in London, England * Criteri ...
'', whose leader was philosopher
Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. One of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and in ...
. The group was mostly a venue Romania's intellectual youth, interested in redefining the national specificity around modernist values, but also offered a venue for dialogue between the
far right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...
and the
far left Far or FAR may refer to: Government * Federal Acquisition Regulation, US * Federal Aviation Regulations, US * Florida Administrative Register, US Military and paramilitary * Rebel Armed Forces (Spanish: '), a defunct guerilla organization ...
. With Maxy, Petrașcu, Mac Constantinescu,
Petre Iorgulescu-Yor Petre Iorgulescu-Yor (24 December 1890, Râmnicu Sărat – 29 April 1939, Bucharest) was a Romanian Expressionist painter of Jewish and Greek ancestry. Biography His father was a landowner who held several local political offices. After attendi ...
, Margareta Sterian and others, Janco represented the art collective at ''Criterion'', which, in 1933, exhibited at Dalles Hall, Bucharest. The same year, Janco erected a blockhouse for Costin (Paleologu Street, 5), which doubled as his own working address and the administrative office of ''Contimporanul''. From 1929, Janco's efforts to reform the capital received administrative support from Dem. I. Dobrescu, the
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
Mayor of Bucharest The mayor of Bucharest (), sometimes known as the general mayor, is the head of the Bucharest City Hall in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
. 1934 was the year when Janco returned as architectural theorist, with ''Urbanism, nu romantism'' ("Urbanism, Not Romanticism"), an essay in the review ''Orașul''. Janco's text restated the need and opportunity for modernist urban planning, especially in Bucharest. ''Orașul'', edited by Eliad and writer Cicerone Theodorescu, introduced him as a world-famous architect and "revolutionary", praising the diversity of his contributions. In 1935, Janco published the pamphlet ''Către o arhitectură a Bucureștilor'' ("Toward an Architecture of Bucharest"), which recommended a "utopian" project to solve the city's social crisis. Like some of his ''Contimporanul'' colleagues, he was by then collaborating with ''Cuvântul Liber'', the self-styled "moderate left-wing review" and with
Isac Ludo Isac Ludo (1894–1973) was a Romanian writer and political figure. Born into a Jewish-Romanian family, Ludo was active in left-wing literary circles prior to World War II. After the Communist take-over in 1947, he rose to important positio ...
's modernist magazine, ''Adam''. The mid-1930s was his most prolific period as an architect, designing more villas, more small apartment buildings, and larger ones as well. His Bazaltin Company headquarters, a mixed use project os offices and apartments that rose up to a topmost 9th floor on Jianu Square, his largest and most prominent, and still most well known (albeit abandoned), was built in 1935. The Solly Gold apartments on a corner on Hristo Botev Avenue (1934) is his best known smaller block, with interlocking angular volumes and balconies on all five sides visible, a double level apartment on the top, and a panel depicting Diana by Militia Pătraşcu by the door. Another well known design is the David Haimovici (1937) on Strada Olteni, its well kept smooth grey walls outlined in white, and a Mediterranean pergola on the top floor. The seven level Frida Cohen tower (1935) dominates a small roundabout on Stelea Spătarul Street with its curved balconies, while a six level one on Luchian Street, probably a real estate investment of his own, is more restrained, with long strip windows the main feature, and another panel by Milita Petraşcu in the lobby. Villas included one for Florica Reich (1936) on Grigore Mora, a simple rectangular volume with a double-height corner cut-out topped by an inventive gridded glass roof, and one for Hermina Hassner (1937), almost square in plan, and with almost the opposite effect, a first floor corner balcony wall pierced by a grid of small circular openings. Probably commissioned by Mircea Eliade, in 1935 Janco also designed the Alexandrescu Building, a severe four storey tenement for Eliade's sister and her family. One of his last projects was a collaboration with Milita Petrascu for her family home and studio, the Villa Emil Pătraşcu (1937) at Pictor Ion Negulici Street 19, a boldly blocky design. Together with Margareta Sterian, who became his disciple, Janco was working on artistic projects involving
ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...
and
fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
. In 1936, some works by Janco, Maxy and Petrașcu represented Romania at the Futurist art show in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Throughout the period, Janco was still on demand as a draftsman: in 1934, his depiction of poet Constantin Nissipeanu opened the first print of Nisspeanu's ''Metamorfoze''; in 1936, he published a posthumous portrait of writer
Mateiu Caragiale Mateiu Ion Caragiale (; – 17 January 1936), also credited as Matei or Matheiu, or in the antiquated version Mateiŭ,Sorin Antohi"Romania and the Balkans. From Geocultural Bovarism to Ethnic Ontology" in ''Tr@nsit online'', Institut für die Wi ...
, to illustrate the Perpessicius edition of Caragiale's poems. His prints also served to illustrate ''Sadismul adevărului'' ("The Sadism of Truth"), written by ''unu'' founder
Sașa Pană Sașa Pană (; pen name of Alexandru Binder; 8 August 1902—22 August 1981) was a Romanian avant-garde poet, novelist, and short story writer. Biography Born to a Jewish family in Bucharest, he trained as a physician in Iași and Bucharest, ...
.


Persecution and departure

By that time, the Janco family was faced with the rise of
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
, and alarmed by the growth of
fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
movements such as the
Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...
. In the 1920s, the ''Contimporanul'' leadership had sustained a
xenophobic Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...
attack from the traditionalist review ''Țara Noastră''. It cited Vinea's
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
origins as a cause for concern, and described Janco as the "painter of the cylinder", and an alien, cosmopolitan, Jew. That objection to Janco's work, and to ''Contimporanul'' in general, was also taken up in 1926 by the anti-modernist essayist I. E. Torouțiu. ''Criterion'' itself split in 1934, when some of its members openly rallied with the Iron Guard, and the radical press accused the remaining ones of promoting
pederasty Pederasty or paederasty () is a sexual relationship between an adult man and an adolescent boy. It was a socially acknowledged practice in Ancient Greece and Rome and elsewhere in the world, such as Pre-Meiji Japan. In most countries today, ...
through their public performances. Josine was expelled from
Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...
in 1935, the reason invoked being that her father was a Jew.Sandqvist, p. 377 For Marcel Janco, the events were an opportunity to discuss his own assimilation into Romanian society: in one of his conferences, he defined himself as "an artist who is a Jew", rather than "a Jewish artist". He later confessed his dismay at the attacks targeting him: "nowhere, never, in Romania or elsewhere in Europe, during peacetime or the cruel years of orld War I did anyone ask me whether I was a Jew or... a kike. ..
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
's Romanian minions managed to change this climate, to turn Romania into an antisemitic country." The ideological shift, he recalled, destroyed his relationships with the ''Contimporanul'' poet
Ion Barbu Ion Barbu (, pen name of Dan Barbilian; 18 March 1895 –11 August 1961) was a Romanian mathematician and poet. His name is associated with the Mathematics Subject Classification number 51C05, which is a major posthumous recognition reserved ...
, who reportedly concluded, after admiring a 1936 exhibit: "Too bad you're a kike!" At around that time, pianist and fascist sympathizer
Cella Delavrancea Cella Delavrancea (15 December 1887 – 9 August 1991) was a Romanian pianist, writer and teacher of piano, eldest daughter of writer Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, sister of architect Henrieta Delavrancea-Gibory, Niculina Delavrancea and "Bebs" ...
also assessed that Janco's contribution to theater was the prime example of "Jewish" and "bastard" art. When the antisemitic
National Christian Party The National Christian Party () was a far-right authoritarian and strongly antisemitic political party in Romania active between 1935 and 1938. It was formed by a merger of Octavian Goga's National Agrarian Party and A. C. Cuza's National-Chr ...
took power, Janco was coming to terms with the
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
ideology, describing the
Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...
as the "cradle" and "salvation" of Jews the world over.
Andrei Oișteanu Andrei Oișteanu (; born September 18, 1948) is a Romanian historian of religions and mentalities, ethnologist, cultural anthropologist, literary critic and novelist. Specialized in the history of religions and mentalities, he is also noted for ...

"Marcel Iancu inedit"
, in ''
Revista 22 ''Revista 22'' (''22 Magazine'') is a Romanian weekly magazine, issued by the Group for Social Dialogue and focused mainly on politics and culture. History and profile ''Revista 22'' was started in 1990. The first edition of the magazine was prin ...
'', Nr. 1022, October 2009
At Budeni, he and Costin hosted
Betar The Betar Movement (), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionism, Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. It was one of several right-wing youth movements tha ...
paramilitaries, who were attempting to organize a Jewish self-defense movement. Janco subsequently made his first trip to
British Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After an Arab uprising against the Ottoma ...
, and began arranging his and his family's relocation there. Geo Șerban
"Constructorul Marcel Iancu"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 573, May 2011
Although Jules and his family emigrated soon after the visit, Marcel returned to Bucharest and, shortly before Jewish art was officially censored, had his one last exhibit there, together with Milița Petrașcu. He was also working on one of his last, and most experimental, contributions to Romanian architecture: the Hermina Hassner Villa (which also hosted his 1928 painting of the ''
Jardin du Luxembourg The Jardin du Luxembourg (), known in English as the Luxembourg Garden, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Sénat (Senate Garden), is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. The creation of the garden began in 1612 when Mar ...
''), the Emil Petrașcu residence, and a tower behind the Atheneum. Geo Șerban
"Ein Hod – popas aniversar"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 436, August 2008
In 1939, the
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
-aligned
Ion Gigurtu Ion Gigurtu (; 24 June 1886 – 24 November 1959) was a far-right Romanian politician, Land Forces officer, engineer and industrialist who served a brief term as Prime Minister from 4 July to 4 September 1940, under the personal regime of King Car ...
cabinet enforced
racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their Race (human categorization), race, ancestry, ethnicity, ethnic or national origin, and/or Human skin color, skin color and Hair, hair texture. Individuals ...
throughout the land, and, as a consequence, ''Jaquesmara'' was confiscated by the state. Many of the Bucharest villas he had designed, which had Jewish landlords, were also taken over forcefully by the authorities. Some months after, the
National Renaissance Front The National Renaissance Front (, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romanian political party created by King Ca ...
government prevented Janco from publishing his work anywhere in Romania, but he was still able to find a niche at ''
Timpul ''Timpul'' (Romanian for "The Time") is a literary magazine published in Romania. Originally a political newspaper, it was the official platform of the Conservative Party between 1876 and 1914. The publication is still active (2018) and publish ...
'' daily—its
anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
manager,
Grigore Gafencu Grigore Gafencu (; January 30, 1892 – January 30, 1957) was a Romanian politician, diplomat and journalist. Political career Gafencu was born in Bârlad. He studied law and received his Ph.D. in law from the University of Bucharest. During ...
, gave imprimatur to sketches, including the landscapes of Palestine. He was also finding work with the
ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...
ized Jewish community, designing the new Barașeum Studio, located in the vicinity of Caimatei. During the first two years of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, although he prepared his documents and received a special passport, Geo Șerban, , in ''
Realitatea Evreiască ''Realitatea Evreiască'' ( Romanian for "The Jewish Reality") is a Romanian cultural and news magazine, based in Bucharest, and addressed to the local Jewish community. The magazine was founded in 1956 under the name ''Revista Cultului Mozaic ...
'', Nr. 246 (1046), February 2006, p. 9
Janco was still undecided. He was still in Romania when the Iron Guard established its
National Legionary State The National Legionary State () was a Totalitarianism, totalitarian Fascism, fascist regime which governed Kingdom of Romania, Romania for five months, from 14 September 1940 until its official dissolution on 14 February 1941. The regime was led ...
. He was receiving and helping Jewish refugees from
Nazi-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...
, and hearing from them about the concentration camp system, but refused offers to emigrate into a neutral or Allied country. His mind was made up in January 1941, when the Iron Guard's struggle for maintaining power resulted in the
Bucharest Pogrom Between 21 and 23 January 1941, a rebellion of the Iron Guard paramilitary organization, whose members were known as Legionnaires, occurred in Bucharest, Romania. As their privileges were being gradually removed by the '' Conducător'' Ion An ...
. Janco himself was a personal witness to the violent events, noting for instance that the Nazi German bystanders would declare themselves impressed by the Guard's murderous efficiency, or how the thugs made an example of the Jews trapped in the Choral Temple. The Străulești Abattoir murders and the stories of Jewish survivors also inspired several of Janco's drawings. One of the victims of the Abattoir massacre was Costin's brother Michael Goldschlager. He was kidnapped from his house by Guardsmen, and his corpse was among those found hanging on hooks, mutilated in such way as to mock the Jewish ''
kashrut (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...
'' ritual. Janco later stated that, over the course of a few days, the pogrom had made him a militant Jew.Roskies, p. 289 With clandestine assistance from
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, Marcel, Medi and their two daughters left Romania through
Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...
harbor, and arrived in
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
on 4 February 1941. They then made their way to Islahiye and French Syria, crossing through the
Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq was the Iraqi state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdom of Iraq, following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian campaign of the First World W ...
and
Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom o ...
, and, on 23 February, ended their journey in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
.Sandqvist, p. 380 The painter found his first employment as architect for Tel Aviv's city government, sharing the office with a
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
survivor who informed him about the genocide in
occupied Poland ' (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV 2 (Norway), TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. ...
. In Romania, the new regime of ''
Conducător ''Conducător'' (, meaning 'Leader') was the title used officially by Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu during World War II, also occasionally used in official discourse to refer to Carol II and Nicolae Ceaușescu. History The word is derived from ...
''
Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc ...
planned a new series of antisemitic measures and atrocities (''see
Holocaust in Romania The Holocaust saw the genocide of Jews in the Kingdom of Romania and in Romanian-controlled territories of the Soviet Union between 1940 and 1944. While historically part of The Holocaust, these actions were mostly independent from the similar a ...
''). In November 1941, Costin and his wife Laura, who had stayed behind in Bucharest, were among those deported to the occupied region of
Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...
. Costin survived, joining up with his sister and with Janco in Palestine, but later moved back to Romania.


In British Palestine and Israel

During his years in British Palestine, Marcel Janco became a noted participant in the development of local Jewish art. He was one of the four Romanian Jewish artists who marked the development of Zionist arts and crafts before 1950—the others were Jean David,
Reuven Rubin Reuven Rubin (, ; November 13, 1893 – October 13, 1974) was a Romanian-born Israeli painter and Israel's first ambassador to Romania. Biography Reuven Zelicovici (later Reuven Rubin) was born in Galaţi to a poor Romanian Jewish Hasidic f ...
, Jacob Eisenscher; David, who was Janco's friend in Bucharest, joined him in Tel Aviv after an adventurous trip and internment in
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
. Radu Comșa
"Jean David – un centenar uitat"
, in ''Cultura'', Nr. 5/2008 (republished b
''România Culturală''
)
In particular, Janco was an early influence on three Zionist artists who had arrived to Palestine from other regions:
Avigdor Stematsky Avigdor Stematsky (; 1908–1989) was a Russian-born Israeli painter. He is considered one of the pioneers of Israeli abstract art. Biography Stematsky was born in 1908 in Odessa, Russian Empire (now Odesa, Ukraine). He studied under Isaac Frenk ...
,
Yehezkel Streichman Yehezkel Streichman (; 1906 – January 12, 1993) was an Israeli painter. He is considered a pioneer of Israeli modernist painting. Among the awards that he won were the Dizengoff Prize and the Israel Prize. Biography Yehezkel Streichman was b ...
and
Joseph Zaritsky Joseph (Yossef) Zaritsky (; September 1, 1891 – November 30, 1985) was one of the early promoters of modern art in the Land of Israel both during the period of the Yishuv (the body of Jewish residents in the Land of Israel before the establishme ...
. He was soon recognized as a leading presence in the artist community, receiving Tel Aviv Municipality's
Dizengoff Prize The Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture is awarded annually by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality since 1937. The prize is named after Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv. According to the Tel Aviv municipality, the purpose of the pri ...
in 1945, and again in 1946."Marcel Janco"
, entry in the
Israel Museum The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...
's
Information Center for Israeli Art The Information Center for Israeli Art (ICIA) is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the Israeli art in Israel. Over 12,000 artists files are housed in the Center in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. History As a r ...
; retrieved 6 September 2011
These contacts were not interrupted by the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
, and Janco was a figure of prominence in the art scene of independent Israel. The new nation enlisted his services as planner, and he was assigned to the team of
Arieh Sharon Arieh Sharon (; May 28, 1900 – July 24, 1984) was an Israeli architect and winner of the Israel Prize for Architecture in 1962. Sharon was a critical contributor to the early architecture in Israel and the leader of the first master plan of the ...
, being tasked with designing and preserving the Israeli national parks.Esther Zandberg
"Surroundings. Janko the Architect"
in ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'', 15 September 2005
As a result of his intervention, in 1949 the area of
Old Jaffa Old Jaffa (, ; ) is the oldest neighborhood in Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Jaffa. It is one of Israel's main tourist attractions, with art galleries, restaurants, theaters, museums, and nightclubs. Old Jaffa is located in the northwest of Jaffa, on a ...
was turned into an artist-friendly community. He was again a recipient of the Dizengoff Prize in 1950 and 1951, resuming his activity as an art promoter and teacher, with lectures at the '' Seminar HaKibbutzim'' college (1953). His artwork was again on show in New York City for a 1950 retrospective. In 1952 he was one of three artists whose work was displayed at the Israeli pavilion at the
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
, the first year Israel had its own pavilion at the Biennale. The other two artists were Reuven Rubin and
Moshe Mokady Moshe Mokady (Brandstatter) (; 1902–1975) is an Israeli artist. Biography Mokady was born in Tarnów with the name Moshe Brandstatter, to Abraham and Helena Brandstatter. In 1914 his family moved to Vienna where he studied painting with Laz ...
. Marcel Janco began his main Israeli project in May 1953, after he had been mandated by the Israeli government to prospect the mountainous regions and delimit a new national park south of
Mount Carmel Mount Carmel (; ), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias (; ), is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. A number of towns are situat ...
. In his own account (since disputed by others), he came across the deserted village of
Ein Hod Ein Hod () is a village in Haifa District in northern Israel. Located at the foot of Mount Carmel and southeast of Haifa, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council and has the status of community settlement (Israel), comm ...
, whose
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
inhabitants had been largely displaced during the 1948 expulsion. Janco felt that the place should not be demolished, obtaining a lease on it from the authorities, and rebuilt the place with other Israeli artists who worked there on weekends; Janco's main residence continued to be in the neighborhood of
Ramat Aviv Ramat Aviv Alef or Ramat Aviv HaYeruka, and originally plainly Ramat Aviv (, ''lit.'' Spring Heights), is a neighborhood in northwest Tel Aviv, Israel. History Ramat Aviv was founded in 1950s following the great influx of immigrants from Eastern ...
. His plot of land in Ein Hod was previously owned by the Arab Abu Faruq, who died in 1991 at the
Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...
refugee camp. Janco became the site's first mayor, reorganizing it into a utopian society,
art colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission ...
and tourist attraction, and instituted the strict code of requirements for one's settlement in Ein Hod. Also in the 1950s, Janco was a founding member of ''
Ofakim Hadashim Ofakim Hadashim (, lit. "New Horizons") is an art movement started in Tel Aviv in 1942. New Horizons The Ofakim Hadashim art movement began with a group of artists who mounted an exhibition in Tel Aviv's Habima national theater in December 194 ...
'' ("New Horizons") group, comprising Israeli painters committed to
abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...
, and headed by Zaritsky. Although he shared the artistic vision, Janco probably did not approve of Zaritsky's rejection of all
narrative art Narrative art is art that tells a story, either as a moment in an ongoing story or as a sequence of events unfolding over time. Some of the earliest evidence of human art suggests that people told stories with pictures. Although there are so ...
and, in 1956, left the group.Nissim Gal
"Art in Israel, 1948-2008: A Partial Panorama"
in ''
Middle East Review of International Affairs ''Middle East Review of International Affairs'' (MERIA) was a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal covering the Middle East. ''MERIA'' was founded by Barry Rubin and edited by Jonathan Spyer. the last published issue was Vol. 21, No. 3 (Fall/Wint ...
'', Nr. 1/2009
He continued to explore new media, and, together with artisan Itche Mambush, he created a series of reliefs and
tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...
. Liana Saxone-Horodi
"Marcel Ianco (Jancu) într-o nouă prezentare"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 571, April 2011
Janco also drew in
pastel A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...
, and created humorous illustrations to ''
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
''. His individual contributions received further praise from his peers and his public: in 1958, he was honored with the
Histadrut Histadrut, fully the New General Workers' Federation () and until 1994 the General Federation of Labour in the Land of Israel (, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center and represents the m ...
union's prize. Over the next two decades, Marcel Janco had several new personal exhibits, notably in Tel Aviv (1959, 1972),
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
(1960) and Paris (1963). Having attended the 1966
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
, Iordan Datcu
"Amintirile lui Harry Brauner"
, in ''România Literară'', Nr. 25/2008
he won the
Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...
of 1967, in recognition of his work as painter."Israeli Art & Judaica to Make First Appearance in Sale at Bonhams in London"
in ''ArtDaily''; retrieved 8 September 2011
In 1960, Janco's presence in Ein Hod was challenged by the returning Palestinians, who tried to reclaim the land. He organized a community defense force, headed by sculptor Tuvia Iuster, which guarded Ein Hod until Israel Police intervened against the protesters. Janco was generally tolerant of those Palestinians who set up the small rival community of Ein Hawd: he notably maintained contacts with tribal leader Abu Hilmi and with Arab landscape artist Muin Zaydan Abu al-Hayja, but the relationship between the two villages was generally distant. Janco has also been described as "disinterested" in the fate of his Arab neighbors. For a second time, Janco reunited with Costin when the latter fled Communist Romania. The writer was a political refugee, singled out at home for Rootless cosmopolitan, "Zionist" activities, and implicated in the show trial of Milița Petrașcu. Costin later left Israel, settling in France. Janco himself made efforts to preserve a link with Romania, and sent albums to his artist friends beyond the Iron Curtain.Jane Perlez
"Bucharest Rediscovers Houses by a Modernist"
in ''The New York Times'', 14 January 1997
He met with folklorist and former political prisoner Harry Brauner, poet Ștefan Iureș, painter Matilda Ulmu and art historian Geo Șerban. His studio was home to other Jewish Romanian emigrants fleeing communism, including female artist Liana Saxone-Horodi. From Israel, he spoke about his Romanian experience at length, first in an interview with writer Solo Har and then in a 1980 article for ''Shevet Romania'' magazine. A year later, from his home in Australia, the modernist promoter Lucian Boz headlined a selection of his works with Janco's portrait of the author. Also in 1981, a selection of Janco's drawings of Holocaust crimes was issued with the Am Oved album ''Kav Haketz/On the Edge''. The following year, he received the "Worthy of Tel Aviv" distinction, granted by the city government. One of the last public events to be attended by Marcel Janco was the creation of the Janco-Dada Museum at his home in Ein Hod. By then, Janco is said to have been concerned about the overall benefits of Jewish relocation into an Arab village. Among his final appearances in public was a 1984 interview with Schweizer Fernsehen station, in which he revisited his Dada activities.


Work


From Iser's Postimpressionism to Expressionist Dada

The earliest works by Janco show the influence of
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, ...
, adopting the visual trappings of Postimpressionism and illustrating, for the first time in Janco's career, the interest in modern Composition (visual arts), composition techniques; Liana Saxone-Horodi believes that Iser's manner is most evident in Janco's 1911 work, ''Self-portrait with Hat'', preserved at the Janco-Dada Museum. Around 1913, Janco was in more direct contact with the French sources of Iser's Postimpressionism, having by then discovered on his own the work of André Derain. However, his covers and vignettes for ''
Simbolul ''Simbolul'' (Romanian for "The Symbol", ) was a Romanian avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between October and December 1912. Co-founded by writers Tristan Tzara and Ion Vinea, together with visual artist Marcel Janco, ...
'' are generally
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
and Symbolism (arts), Symbolist to the point of pastiche. Researcher Tom Sandqvist presumes that Janco was in effect following his friends' command, as "his own preferences were soon closer to Paul Cézanne, Cézanne and Cubism, cubist-influenced modes of expression". Futurism was thrown into the mix, a fact acknowledged by Janco during his 1930 encounter with Marinetti: "we were nourished by [Futurist] ideas and empowered to be enthusiastic." A third major source for Janco's imagery was
Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
, initially coming to him from both ''Die Brücke'' artists and
Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright and teacher, best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expre ...
,Drăguț ''et al.'', p. 257 and later reactivated by his contacts at ''
Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German List of avant-garde magazines, avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 a ...
''. Among his early canvasses, the self-portraits and the portraits of clowns have been discussed as particularly notable samples of Romanian Expressionism. The influence of Germanic Postimpressionism on Janco's art was crystallized during his studies at the
Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...
. His more important teachers there, Sandqvist observes, were sculptor Johann Jakob Graf and architect Karl Moser—the latter in particular, for his ideas on the architectural ''Gesamtkunstwerk''. Sandqvist suggests that, after modernizing Moser's ideas, Janco first theorized that Abstract expressionism, Abstract-Expressionistic decorations needed to an integral part of the basic architectural design. In paintings from Janco's ''Cabaret Voltaire'' period, the figurative element is not canceled, but usually subdued: the works show a mix of influences, primarily from Cubism or Futurism, and have been described by Janco's colleague Arp as "zigzag Naturalism (arts), naturalism". His series on dancers, painted before 1917 and housed by the
Israel Museum The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...
, moves between the atmospheric qualities of a Futurism filtered through Dada and Janco's first experiments in purely abstract art. His assimilation of Expressionism has led scholar John Willett to discuss Dadaism as visually an Expressionist sub-current, and, in retrospect, Janco himself claimed that Dada was not as much a fully-fledged new artistic style as "a force coming from the physical instincts", directed against "everything cheap". However, his own work also features the quintessentially Dada found object art, or everyday objects rearranged as art—reportedly, he was the first Dadaist to experiment in such manner. His other studies, in collage and relief, have been described by reviewers as "a personal synthesis which is identifiable as his own to this day","Israeli & International Art Sale To Be Held at Sotheby's New York"
in ''ArtDaily''; retrieved 8 September 2011
and ranked among "the most courageous and original experiments in abstract art." The ''
Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of the Romanian word for "the Contemporary", singular masculine form) was a Romanian (initially a weekly and later a monthly) avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between June 1922 ...
'' years were a period of artistic exploration. Although a Constructivist architect and designer, Janco was still identifiable as an Expressionist in his ink-drawn portraits of writers and in some of his canvasses. According to scholar Dan Grigorescu, his essays of the time fluctuate away from Constructivism, and adopt ideas common in Expressionism, Surrealism, or even the Byzantine revival suggested by anti-modernist reviews. His ''Rolling the Dice'' piece is a meditation on the tragedy of human existence, which reinterprets the symbolism of zodiacs and probably alludes to the seedier side of urban life. The Expressionist transfiguration of shapes was especially noted in his drawings of
Mateiu Caragiale Mateiu Ion Caragiale (; – 17 January 1936), also credited as Matei or Matheiu, or in the antiquated version Mateiŭ,Sorin Antohi"Romania and the Balkans. From Geocultural Bovarism to Ethnic Ontology" in ''Tr@nsit online'', Institut für die Wi ...
and
Stephan Roll Stephan Roll (pen name of Gheorghe Dinu, also credited as Stéphane, Stefan or Ștefan Roll; June 5, 1904 – May 14, 1974) was a Romanian poet, editor, film critic, and communist militant. An autodidact, he played host to the Romanian avant-garde ...
, created from harsh and seemingly spontaneous lines. The style was ridiculed at the time by traditionalist poet
George Topîrceanu George Topîrceanu (; March 20, 1886 – May 7, 1937) was a Romanian poet, short story writer, and humourist. Biography He was born in Bucharest, the son of Ion Topîrceanu, a furrier and his wife, Paraschiva (née Cosma), a carpet weaver. The f ...
, who wrote that, in ''Antologia poeților de azi'',
Ion Barbu Ion Barbu (, pen name of Dan Barbilian; 18 March 1895 –11 August 1961) was a Romanian mathematician and poet. His name is associated with the Mathematics Subject Classification number 51C05, which is a major posthumous recognition reserved ...
looked "a Mongols, Mongolian bandit",
Felix Aderca Felix Aderca (; born Froim-Zelig ''Froim-ZeilicAderca; March 13, 1891 – December 12, 1962), , in '' Realitatea Evreiască'', Nr. 280-281 (1080-1081), August–September 2007 Boris Marian, , in '' Realitatea Evreiască'', Nr. 292-293 (1092-109 ...
"a shoemaker's apprentice", and Alice Călugăru "an alcoholic fishwife". Such views were contrasted by
Perpessicius Perpessicius (; pen name of Dumitru S. Panaitescu, also known as Panait Șt. Dumitru, D. P. Perpessicius and Panaitescu-Perpessicius; October 22, 1891 – March 29, 1971) was a Romanian literary historian and critic, poet, essayist and fiction wr ...
' publicized belief that Janco was "the purest artist", his drawings evidencing the "great vital force" of his subjects. Topîrceanu's claim is contradicted by literary historian Barbu Cioculescu, who finds the ''Antologia'' drawings: "exquisitely synthetic—some of them masterpieces; take it from someone who has seen from up close many of the writers portrayed".


Primitive and collective art

As a Dada, Janco was interested in the raw and primitive art, generated by "the instinctive power of creation", and he credited
Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...
with having helped him "interpret the soul of primitive man". A distinct application of Dada was his own work with masks, seen by
Hugo Ball Hugo Ball (; 22 February 1886 – 14 September 1927) was a German author, poet, and essentially the founder of the Dada movement in European art in Zürich in 1916. Among other accomplishments, he was a pioneer in the development of sound poetry. ...
as having generated fascination with their unusual "kinetic power", and useful for performing "larger-than-life characters and passions." However, Janco's understanding of African traditional masks, African masks, African sculpture, idols and Traditional African religion, ritual was, according to art historians Mark Antliff and Patricia Leighten, "deeply romanticized" and "Reductionism, reductive". At the end of the Dada episode, Janco also took his growing interest in primitivism to the level of academia: in his 1918 speech at the Zürich Institute, he declared that African art, African, Etruscan art, Etruscan, Byzantine art, Byzantine and Romanesque art, Romanesque arts were more genuine and "spiritual" than the Renaissance and its derivatives, while also issuing special praise for the modern spirituality of Derain, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse; his lecture rated all Cubists above all Impressionism, Impressionists. In his contribution to ''Das Neue Leben'' theory, he spoke about a return to the handicrafts, ending the "divorce" between art and life.Slyomovics (1995), pp. 44–45 Art critic Harry Seiwert also notes that Janco's art also reflected his contact with various other alternative models, found in Art of ancient Egypt, Ancient Egyptian and History of Eastern art, Far Eastern art, in the paintings of Cimabue and El Greco, and in Cloisonnism. Seiwert and Sandqvist both propose that Janco's work had other enduring connections with the visual conventions of Hasidic Judaism, Hassidism and the dark tones often favored by 20th-century Jewish art. Around 1919, Janco had come to describe Constructivism as a needed transition from "negative" Dada, an idea also pioneered by his colleagues
Kurt Schwitters Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters (20 June 1887 – 8 January 1948) was a German artist. He was born in Hanover, Germany, but lived in exile from 1937. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including Dadaism, Constructivism (a ...
and
Theo van Doesburg Theo van Doesburg (; born Christian Emil Marie Küpper; 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch painter, writer, poet and architect. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl. He married three times. Personal life Theo van Do ...
, and finding an early expression in Janco's plaster relief ''Soleil jardin clair'' (1918). In part, Janco's post-Dadaism responded to the socialist ideals of Constructivism. According to Sandqvist, his affiliation to ''Das Neue Leben'' and his sporadic contacts with the Arbeitsrat für Kunst, Art Soviet of Munich meant that he was trying to "adjust to the spirit of the age." Historian Hubert F. van der Berg also notes that the socialist ideal of "a new life", implicitly adopted by Janco, was a natural peacetime development of Dada's discourse about "the new man". The activity at ''Contimporanul'' cemented Janco's belief in primitivism and the values of outsider art. In a 1924 piece, he argued: "The Child art, art of children, folk art, the art of psychopaths, of primitive people are the liveliest ones, the most expressive ones, coming to us from organic depths, without cultivated beauty." He ridiculed, like Ion Vinea before him, the substance of Romania's academic traditionalism, notably in a provocative drawing which showed a grazing donkey under the title "Tradition". Instead, Janco was publicizing the idea that Dada and various other strands of modernism were the actual tradition, for being indirectly indebted to the absurdist nature of
Romanian folklore The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romania ...
. The matter of Janco's own debt to his country's peasant art is more controversial. In the 1920s, Vinea discussed Janco's Cubism is a direct echo of an old abstract art that is supposedly native and exclusive to Romania—an assumption considered exaggerated by
Paul Cernat Paul Cernat (born August 5, 1972 in Bucharest) is a Romanian essayist and literary critic. He has a Ph.D. summa cum laude in philology. Cernat has been a member of the Writers' Union of Romania since 2009. As of 2013, he is lecturer of Romanian l ...
. Seiwert suggests that virtually none of Janco's paintings show a verifiable contact with Romanian primitivism, but his opinion is questioned by Sandqvist: he writes that Janco's masks and prints are homages to traditional Romanian decorative patterns.


Beyond Constructivism

For a while, Janco rediscovered himself in abstract and semi-abstract art, describing the basic geometrical shapes as pure forms, and art as the effort to organize these forms—ideas akin with the "picto-poetry" of Romanian avant-garde writers such as
Ilarie Voronca Ilarie Voronca (pen name of Eduard Isidor Marcus; 31 December 1903, Brăila – 8 April 1946, Paris) was a Romanian avant-garde poet and essayist. Life and career Voronca was of History of the Jews in Romania, Jewish ethnicity. In his early yea ...
.Pop, "Un 'misionar al artei noi' (II)", p. 10–11 After 1930, when Constructivism lost its position of leadership on Romania's artistic scene, Janco made a return to "analytic" Cubism, echoing the early work of Picasso in his painting ''Peasant Woman and Eggs''. This period centered on semi-figurative cityscapes, which, according to critics such as Alexandru D. Broșteanu and Sorin Alexandrescu, Cezar Gheorghe
"Regîndirea orașului"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 547, October 2010
stand out for their objectification of the human figure. Also then, Janco worked on seascape and still life canvasses, in brown tones and Cubist arrangements. Diversification touched his other activities. His theory of set design still mixed Expressionism into Futurism and Constructivism, calling for an actor-based Expressionist theater and a mechanized, movement-based, cinema. However, his parallel work in
costume design Costume design is the process of selecting or creating clothing for a performers. A costume may be designed from scratch or may be designed by combining existing garments. "Costume" may also refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a ...
evidenced a toning down of avant-garde tendencies (to the displeasure of his colleagues at ''Integral'' magazine), and a growing preoccupation with ''commedia dell'arte''. In discussing architecture, Janco described himself and the other ''Artistes Radicaux'' as the mentors of Europe's modernist urban planners, including Bruno Taut and the ''Bauhaus'' group. The ideals of Collectivism (art), collectivism in art, "art as life", and a "Constructivist revolution" dominated his programmatic texts of the mid-1920s, which offered as examples the activism of ''De Stijl'', ''Blok'' and Soviet Union, Soviet Constructivist architecture. His own architectural work was entirely dedicated to functionalism: in his words, the purpose of architecture was a "harmony of forms", with designs as simplified as to resemble crystals. His experiment on Trinității Street, with its angular pattern and multicolored facade, has been rated one of the most spectacular samples of Romanian modernism, while the buildings he designed later came with Art Deco elements, including the "ocean liner"-type balconies. At the other end, his
Predeal Predeal (; ) is a town in Brașov County, Muntenia, Romania. Predeal, a mountain resort town, is the highest town in Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, Muntenia at an elevation of over . The town administers three villages: Pârâu ...
sanatorium was described by Sandqvist as "a long, narrow white building clearly signaling its function as a hospital" and "smoothly adapting to the landscape." Functionalism was further illustrated by Janco's ideas on furniture design, where he favored "small heights", "simple aesthetics", as well as "a maximum of comfort" which would "pay no tribute to richness". Scholars have also noted that "the breath of humanitarianism" unites the work of Janco, Maxy and Corneliu Michăilescu, beyond their shared eclecticism. Cernat nevertheless suggests that the ''Contimporanul'' group was politically disengaged and making efforts to separate art from politics, giving positive coverage to both Marxism and Italian fascism. In that context, a more evidently Marxist form of Constructivism, close to Proletkult, was being taken up independently by Maxy. Janco's functionalist goal was still coupled with socialist imagery, as in ''Către o arhitectură a Bucureștilor'', called an architectural ''tikkun olam'' by Sandqvist. Indebted to Le Corbusier's ''Toward an Architecture, New Architecture'', Janco theorized that Bucharest had the "luck" of not yet being systematized or built-up, and that it could be easily turned into a Garden city movement, garden city, without ever repeating the West's "chain of mistakes". According to architecture historians Mihaela Criticos and Ana Maria Zahariade, Janco's creed was not in fact radically different from mainstream Romanian opinions: "although declaring themselves committed to the modernist agenda, [Janco and others] nuance it with their own formulas, away from the abstract utopias of the International style (architecture), International Style." A similar point is made by Sorin Alexandrescu, who attested a "general contradiction" in Janco's architecture, that between Janco's own wishes and those of his patrons.


Holocaust art and Israeli abstractionism

Soon after his first visit to Palestine and his Zionist conversion, Janco began painting landscapes in optimistic tones, including a general view over Tiberias and bucolic watercolors. By the time of World War II, however, he was again an Expressionist, fascinated with the major existential themes. The war experience inspired his 1945 painting ''Fascist Genocide'', which is also seen by Grigorescu as one of his contributions to Expressionism. Janco's sketches of the
Bucharest Pogrom Between 21 and 23 January 1941, a rebellion of the Iron Guard paramilitary organization, whose members were known as Legionnaires, occurred in Bucharest, Romania. As their privileges were being gradually removed by the '' Conducător'' Ion An ...
are, according to cultural historian David G. Roskies, "extraordinary" and in complete break with Janco's "earlier surrealistic style"; he paraphrases the rationale for this change as: "Why bother with surrealism when the world itself has gone crazy?" According to the painter's own definition: "I was drawing with the thirst of one who is being chased around, desperate to quench it and find his refuge." As he recalled, these works were not well received in the post-war
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
community, because they evoked painful memories in a general mood of optimism; as a result, Janco decided to change his palette and tackle subjects which related exclusively to his new country. An exception to this self-imposed rule was the motif of "wounded soldiers", which continued to preoccupy him after 1948, and was also thematically linked to the wartime massacres. During and after his ''
Ofakim Hadashim Ofakim Hadashim (, lit. "New Horizons") is an art movement started in Tel Aviv in 1942. New Horizons The Ofakim Hadashim art movement began with a group of artists who mounted an exhibition in Tel Aviv's Habima national theater in December 194 ...
'' engagement, Marcel Janco again moved into the realm of pure abstraction, which he believed represented the artistic "language" of a new age. This was an older idea, as first illustrated by his 1925 attempt to create an "alphabet of shapes", the basis for any abstractionist composition. His subsequent preoccupations were linked to the Jewish tradition of interpreting symbols, and he reportedly told scholar Moshe Idel: "I paint in ''Kabbalah''". He was still eclectic beyond abstractionism, and made frequent returns to brightly colored, semi-figurative, landscapes. Also eclectic is Janco's sparse contribution to the architecture of Israel, including a Herzliya Pituah villa that is entirely built in the non-modernist ''Poble Espanyol'' style. Another component of Janco's work was his revisiting of earlier Dada experiments: he redid some of his Dada masks, and supported the international avant-garde group ''NO!art''. He later worked on the ''Imaginary Animals'' cycle of paintings, inspired by the short stories of
Urmuz Urmuz (, pen name of Demetru Dem. Demetrescu-Buzău, also known as Hurmuz or Ciriviș, born Dimitrie Dim. Ionescu-Buzeu; March 17, 1883 – November 23, 1923) was a Romanian writer, lawyer and civil servant, who became a cult hero in Romania's av ...
. Meanwhile, his Ein Hod project was in various ways the culmination of his promotion of folk art, and, in Janco's own definition, "my last Dada activity". According to some interpretations, he may have been directly following the example of Hans Arp's "Waggis" commune, which existed in 1920s Switzerland. Anthropologist Susan Slyomovics argues that the Ein Hod project as a whole was an alternative to the standard practice of Zionist colonization, since, instead of creating new buildings in the ancient scenery, it showed attempts to cultivate the existing Arab-style masonry. She also writes that Janco's landscapes of the place "romanticize" his own contact with the Palestinians, and that they fail to clarify whether he thought of Arabs as refugees or as fellow inhabitants. Journalist Esther Zanberg describes Janco as an "Orientalism, Orientalist" driven by "the mythology surrounding Israeli nationalistic Zionism." Art historian Nissim Gal also concludes: "the pastoral vision of Janco [does not] include any trace of the inhabitants of the former Arab village".


Legacy

Admired by his contemporaries on the avant-garde scene, Marcel Janco is mentioned or portrayed in several works by Romanian authors. In the 1910s, Vinea dedicated him the poem "Tuzla", which is one of his first contributions to modernist literature; a decade later, one of the Janco exhibits inspired him to write the prose poem ''Danțul pe frânghie'' ("Dancing on a Wire"). Following his conflict with the painter, Tzara struck out all similar dedications from his own poems. Before their friendship waned,
Ion Barbu Ion Barbu (, pen name of Dan Barbilian; 18 March 1895 –11 August 1961) was a Romanian mathematician and poet. His name is associated with the Mathematics Subject Classification number 51C05, which is a major posthumous recognition reserved ...
also contributed a homage to Janco, referring to his Constructivist paintings as "storms of protractors". In addition, Janco was dedicated a poem by Belgium, Belgian artist Émile Malespine, and is mentioned in one of Marinetti's poetic texts about the 1930 visit to Romania, as well as in the verse of neo-Dadaist Valery Oisteanu. Janco's portrait was painted by colleague
Victor Brauner Victor Brauner (, also spelled Viktor Brauner; 15 June 1903 – 12 March 1966) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of the surrealism (art), surrealist movement. Early life He was born in Piatra Neamț, Romania, the son of a Jewish timber manufac ...
, in 1924. According to Sandqvist, there are three competing aspects in Janco's legacy, which relate to the complexity of his profile: "In Western cultural history Marcel Janco is best known as one of the founding members of Dada in Zürich in 1916. Regarding the Romanian avant-garde in the interwar period Marcel Hermann Iancu is more known as the spider in the web and as the designer of a great number of Romania's first constructivist buildings [...]. On the other hand, in Israel Marcel Janco is best known as the 'father' of the artists' colony of Ein Hod ..and for his pedagogic achievements in the young Jewish state." Janco's memory is principally maintained by his Ein Hod museum. The building was damaged by the 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire, but reopened and grew to include a permanent exhibit of Janco's art. Janco's paintings still have a measurable impact on the contemporary Israeli avant-garde, which is largely divided between the abstractionism he helped introduce and the Neorealism (art), neorealistic disciples of Michail Grobman and Avraham Ofek. The Communist Romania, Romanian communist regime, which cracked down on modernism, reconfirmed the confiscation of villas built by the ''Birou de Studii Moderne'', which it then leased to other families. One of these lodgings, the Wexler Villa, was assigned as the residence of communist poet Eugen Jebeleanu. The regime tended to ignore Janco's contributions, which were not listed in the architectural who's who, Victoria Anghelescu
"Marea arhitectură, între ruine și termopane"
in ''Adevărul Literar și Artistic'', 5 November 2008
and it became standard practice to generally omit references to his Jewish ethnicity. He was however honored with a special issue of ''Secolul 20'' literary magazine, in 1979, and interviewed for ''Tribuna'' and ''Luceafărul (magazine), Luceafărul'' journals (1981, 1984). His architectural legacy was affected by the Ceaușima, large-scale demolition program of the 1980s. Most of the buildings were spared, however, because they are scattered throughout residential Bucharest. Some 20 of his Bucharest structures were still standing twenty years later, but the lack of a renovation program and the shortages of late communism brought steady decay. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Marcel Janco's buildings were subject to legal battles, as the original owners and their descendants were allowed to contest the nationalization. These landmarks, like other modernist assets, became treasured real estate: in 1996, a Janco house was valued at 500,000 United States dollars. The sale of such property happened at a fast pace, reportedly surpassing the standardized conservation effort, and experts noted with alarm that Janco villas were being defaced with anachronistic additions, such as insulated glazing and structural interventions, or eclipsed by the newer highrise. In 2008, despite calls from within the academic community, only three of his buildings had been inscribed in the National Register of Historic Monuments in Romania, National Register of Historic Monuments. Janco was again being referenced as a possible model for new generations of Romanian architects and urban planners. In a 2011 article, poet and architect August Ioan claimed: "Romanian architecture is, apart from its few years with Marcel Janco, one that has denied itself experimentation, projective thinking, anticipation. ..it is content with imports, copies, nuances or pure and simple stagnation." This stance is contrasted by that of designer Radu Comșa, who argues that praise for Janco often lacks "the recoil of objectivity". Janco's programmatic texts on the issue were collected and reviewed by historian
Andrei Pippidi Andrei-Nicolae Pippidi (born 12 March 1948, in Bucharest) is a Romanian historian and professor emeritus at the University of Bucharest. He specialised in South-Eastern European history of the 15th–19th century, in Romanian history of the Middl ...
in the 2003 retrospective anthology ''București – Istorie și urbanism'' ("Bucharest. History and Urban Planning"). Following a proposal formulated by poet and publicist Nicolae Tzone at the Bucharest Conference on Surrealism, in 2001, Janco's sketch for Vinea's "country workshop" was used in designing Bucharest's ICARE, the Institute for the Study of the Romanian and European Avant-garde. The Bazaltin building was used as the offices of TVR Cultural station. In the realm of visual arts, curators Anca Bocăneț and Dana Herbay organized a centennial Marcel Janco exhibit at the National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest Museum of Art (MNAR), with additional contributions from writer Magda Cârneci. In 2000, his work was featured in the "Jewish Art of Romania" retrospective, hosted by Cotroceni Palace. The local art market rediscovered Janco's art, and, in June 2009, one of his seascapes sold in auction for 130,000 Euro, the second largest sum ever fetched by a painting in Romania. There was a noted increase in his overall market value, and he became interesting to Art forgery, art forgers. Outside Romania, Janco's work has been reviewed in specialized monographs by Harry Seiwert (1993) and Michael Ilk (2001). Florin Colonas
"O toamnă bogată"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 207, February 2004
His work as painter and sculptor has been dedicated special exhibits in Berlin, Essen (Museum Folkwang) and Budapest, while his architecture was presented abroad with exhibitions at the Technical University Munich and Bauhaus Center Tel Aviv. Among the events showcasing Janco's art, some focused exclusively on his rediscovered Holocaust paintings and drawings. These shows include ''On the Edge'' (Yad Vashem, 1990) and ''Destine la răscruce'' ("Destinies at Crossroads", MNAR, 2011).
Andrei Oișteanu Andrei Oișteanu (; born September 18, 1948) is a Romanian historian of religions and mentalities, ethnologist, cultural anthropologist, literary critic and novelist. Specialized in the history of religions and mentalities, he is also noted for ...

"Ziua Holocaustului în România"
, in ''
Revista 22 ''Revista 22'' (''22 Magazine'') is a Romanian weekly magazine, issued by the Group for Social Dialogue and focused mainly on politics and culture. History and profile ''Revista 22'' was started in 1990. The first edition of the magazine was prin ...
'', Nr. 1075, October 2010
His canvasses and collages went on sale at Bonhams and Sotheby's.


See also

*Visual arts in Israel *Portrait of a Girl


Notes


References


Bibliography

*
Paul Cernat Paul Cernat (born August 5, 1972 in Bucharest) is a Romanian essayist and literary critic. He has a Ph.D. summa cum laude in philology. Cernat has been a member of the Writers' Union of Romania since 2009. As of 2013, he is lecturer of Romanian l ...
, ''Avangarda românească și complexul periferiei: primul val'', Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2007. *Ovid Crohmălniceanu, ''Literatura română între cele două războaie mondiale'', Vol. I,
Editura Minerva Editura Minerva is one of the largest publishing houses in Romania. Located in Bucharest, it is known, among other things, for publishing classic Romanian literature, children's books, and scientific books. The company was founded in Bucharest in ...
, Bucharest, 1972. *Vasile Drăguț, Vasile Florea, Dan Grigorescu, Marin Mihalache, ''Pictura românească în imagini'', Editura Meridiane, Bucharest, 1970. *Dan Grigorescu, ''Istoria unei generații pierdute: expresioniștii'', Editura Eminescu, Bucharest, 1980. *Susan Valeria Harris Smith, ''Masks in Modern Drama'', University of California Press, Berkeley etc., 1984. *Dalia Manor, "From Rejection to Recognition: Israeli Art and the Holocaust", in Dan Urian, Efraim Karsh (eds.), ''In Search of Identity: Jewish Aspects in Israeli Culture'', Frank Cass, London & Portland, 1999, p. 253-277. *Barbara Meazzi, "Les marges du Futurisme", in François Livi (ed.), ''Futurisme et Surréalisme'', L'Âge d'Homme, Lausanne, 2008, p. 111-124. *Z. Ornea, ''Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească'', Editura Fundației Culturale Române, Bucharest, 1995. * Ion Pop
" Un 'misionar al artei noi': Marcel Iancu (I)"
in ''Tribuna'', Nr. 177, January 2010, p. 9-10
" Un 'misionar al artei noi': Marcel Iancu (II)"
in ''Tribuna'', Nr. 178, February 2010, p. 10-11 *Marie-Aline Prat, ''Peinture et avant-garde au seuil des années 30'', L'Âge d'Homme, Lausanne, 1984. *David G. Roskies, ''Against the Apocalypse: Responses to Catastrophe in Modern Jewish Culture'', Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, 1999. *Tom Sandqvist, ''Dada East. The Romanians of Cabaret Voltaire'', MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, 2006. *Susan Slyomovics, **"Discourses on the pre-1948 Palestinian Village: The Case of Ein Hod/Ein Houd", in Annelies Moors, Toine van Teeffelen, Sharif Kanaana, Ilham Abu Ghazaleh (eds.), ''Discourse and Palestine: Power, Text and Context'', Het Spinhuis, Amsterdam, 1995, p. 41-54. **"The New Ein Houd", in Esther Hertzog, Orit Abuhav, Harvey E. Goldberg, Emanuel Marx (eds.), ''Perspectives on Israeli Anthropology'', Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 2010, p. 413-452. *Richard C. S. Trahair, ''Utopias and Utopians: An Historical Dictionary'', Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport, 1999. *Hubert F. van der Berg, "From a New Art to a New Life and a New Man. Avant-garde Utopianism in Dada", in Sascha Bru, Gunther Martens (eds.), ''The Invention of Politics in the European Avant-garde (1906-1940)'', Rodopi Publishers, Amsterdam & New York City, 2006, p. 133-150.


External links

* * *
Janco's works
at the Museum of Modern Art
Janco's profile
by Petre Răileanu, in
Plural Magazine
', Nr. 3/1999

University of Iowa]
International Dada ArchiveEin Hod Artists' Village
an
Janco-Dada Museum
official sites
''Contimporanul'' archive
Babeș-Bolyai University]
Transsylvanica Online Library
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