Marcel Olinescu (; September 17, 1896 – February 15, 1992) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n engraver. Born in

Dorohoi Dorohoi () is a city in Botoșani County, Romania, on the right bank of the river Jijia, which broadens into a lake on the north. The city administers three villages: Dealu Mare, Loturi Enescu, and Progresul. History Dorohoi used to be a market ...

, his father Teofil was a German-language teacher who came from Hliboka (''Adâncata'') in Austrian-ruled

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. His mother, Terezia (''née'' Kernbach), came from a family of German doctors. He attended primary school in his native town, followed by gymnasium at

Pomârla Pomârla is a commune in Botoșani County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Hulubești, Pomârla, Poiana, and Racovăț. The commune lies on the banks of the river Pârâul lui Martin. It is located in the northwest ...

from 1907 to 1911. Between 1919 and 1921, he attended the Fine Arts Academy in

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, followed by the National School of Fine Arts in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

from 1921 to 1923. There, one of his professors was

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

. Following his graduation, he found a position at

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, in the

Țara Moților Țara Moților (), also known as ''Țara de Piatră'' ("The Stone Land") is an ethnogeographical region of Romania in the Apuseni Mountains, on the upper basin of the Arieș and Crișul Alb River rivers. It covers parts of the Alba, Arad, Bi ...

area of

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, as a teacher of calligraphy and drawing. Spending three years there, Olinescu became fascinated by the local lifestyle, producing ten engravings centered on the local gold-mining industry. He also drew portraits featuring leaders of the

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, after earlier paintings by Barbu Iscovescu. In 1925, together with

Dumitru Ghiață Dumitru Ghiață (22 September 1888 – 3 July 1972) was a Romanian landscape painter. He painted still life depictions of flowers and compositions in a simple, direct, sober coloured style, in a synthetic drawing recalling folk traditions ("Pe ...

, he hosted an exhibition of his Țara Moților work at the

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, also publishing an album.Gabor, p.867 In 1926, Olinescu went to

Botoșani Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. Origin of the ...

to teach at A. T. Laurian High School. The following year, he settled at Arad, where he taught drawing at the boys' commercial high school. From 1933 to 1937, he edited the local ''Știrea'' newspaper, while in 1931, he co-founded an artistic society in Arad. Together with other members, who included

Gheorghe Ciuhandu Gheorghe Coriolan Ciuhandu (; born 15 June 1947) is a Romanian politician. A building engineer by profession, he graduated from the Traian Vuia Polytechnic Institute in 1970, earning a doctorate in 1986 and joining the faculty in 1993. He was ...

, he edited the literary and cultural magazine ''Hotarul'', in 24 pages, which first appeared in 1933. Starting in October 1934, he also edited ''Duh'', a magazine focused on art, literary criticism and philosophy. He worked on

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's sociological research teams. Sculpting in an improvised workshop in the courtyard of his school, he executed busts of the local pedagogue Petre Pipoș and of a newspaperman from ''Știrea''. He also produced a bust of 1784 revolutionary Crișan, after a contemporary oil painting; this was placed in Vaca, the revolutionary's native village. While at Arad, he published a volume of verse. He left the city in 1937, teaching in Bucharest between that year and 1958.Olinescu, p.2 Olinescu took part in drawing exhibitions with the ''Grupul Grafic'' society in 1940, 1943 and 1946. His most comprehensive exhibition took place in 1977 at the Romanian Athenaeum; this featured a large number of engravings. The books he illustrated include ''Din țara moților'' (1925), ''Botoșanii care se duc'' (1927), ''Miorița'' (1940), ''Mitologia românească'' (1944), ''Târgoviște de ieri și de azi'' (1976) and ''Peisaje'' (1983). Today, 52 works by Olinescu are held by the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization in

Deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...

. Most are

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 ...

s; the rest,

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.Gabor, p.868

Notes

References

* Camelia Gabor
"Redescoperirea unei personalităţi – Marcel Olinescu"
in ''Sargetia: Acta Musei Devensis'', XXXV-XXXVI, 2007-2008, p. 867-872 *Marcel Olinescu, ''Mitologie românească''. Editura 100+1 Gramar, Bucharest, 2004, {{DEFAULTSORT:Olinescu, Marcel 1896 births 1992 deaths People from Dorohoi Romanian people of German descent 20th-century Romanian engravers 20th-century Romanian sculptors Romanian male poets Romanian schoolteachers Romanian newspaper editors 20th-century Romanian poets 20th-century Romanian male writers 20th-century engravers