Mihail Simonidi or, in French, Michel Simonidy (8 March 1870,

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 ...

- 7 February 1933,

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 ...

) was a Romanian painter, designer and decorator of Greek descent who worked in the

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 ...

style.

Biography

He came from a Greek family that had settled in

Muntenia Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the rarely used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in Ro ...

and was originally named Menelas Simonides. In Paris, he was a pupil of

Léon Bonnat Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat (; 20 June 1833 – 8 September 1922) was a French painter, Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur, art collector and professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Early life Bonnat was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 ...

and

Gabriel Ferrier Gabriel-Joseph-Marie-Augustin Ferrier (29 September 1847 in Nîmes – 6 June 1914 in Paris) was a French portrait painter and orientalist. Early life and education His father was a pharmacist. He began his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts, ...

and was best known for his

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

scenes and nudes. He received an honorable mention at the

Exposition Universelle (1889) The of 1889 (), better known in English as the 1889 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 6 May to 31 October 1889. It was the fifth of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It attracted more t ...

. His "Death of

Mithridates Mithridates or Mithradates (Old Persian 𐎷𐎡𐎰𐎼𐎭𐎠𐎫 ''Miθradāta'') is the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic form of an Iranian languages, Iranian theophoric name, meaning "given by Mithra". Its Modern Persian form is Mehrdad. It ...

" also won a medal at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

, where he exhibited from 1908 to 1912. As did most of those who worked in the Art Nouveau style, he designed numerous posters, including advertising for

Braun Braun is a surname, originating from the German language, German word for the color brown. In German, ''Braun'' is pronounced – except for the "r", equal to the English word "brown". In English, it is often pronounced like "brawn". Notable p ...

-Clément & Cie. (photographers) and ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'' as well as one for a performance of ''Théodora'' by

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 1831 – 8 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-c ...

, starring

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

. He occasionally collaborated with

Jean de Paleologu Jean de Paleologu (or Paleologue) (1855 – 24 November 1942) was a Romanian poster artist, painter, and illustrator, who often used Pal or PAL as his signature or logo and was active in France and the United States. Career Born in Bucharest, he ...

(known as "Pal"). He returned to Romania intermittently to do interiors. His best-known work involved decorations for the Hall of Honor and the ceiling of the boardroom at the

CEC Palace The CEC Palace () in Bucharest, Romania, built between 8 June 1897 and 1900, and situated on Calea Victoriei opposite the National Museum of Romanian History, is the headquarters of CEC Bank. History Before the construction of the palace, the l ...

, designed by the French architect, . The ceiling depicts

Fortuna Fortuna (, equivalent to the Greek mythology, Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Religion in ancient Rome, Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular thr ...

and the Romanians following the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

. A

study Study or studies may refer to: General * Education **Higher education * Clinical trial * Experiment * Field of study * Observational study * Scientific study * Research * Study skills, abilities and approaches applied to learning Other * Study ...

for the mural won a silver medal at the

Exposition Universelle (1900) The Exposition Universelle of 1900 (), better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate develop ...

. His portraits of King

Carol I Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – ), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as ...

and Queen Elisabeth were destroyed by the Communist régime. In 2004, the contents of his studio were auctioned off at the

Hôtel Drouot Hôtel Drouot is a large auction venue in Paris, known for fine art, antiques, and antiquities. It consists of 16 halls hosting 70 independent auction firms, which operate under the umbrella grouping of Drouot. The firm's main location, called D ...

Selected works

File:Mihail Simonidy - Winter perfume.jpg, Winter Perfume Mihail Simonidy - Sarah Bernhardt in Teodora Bizantului.jpg, Sarah Bernhardt as Théodora File:Mihail Simonidi - Nud02.jpg, Nude Leaning
Against a Rock File:Mihail Simonidy - Le Figaro01.jpg, Poster for ''Le Figaro''

Sources

* Tudor Octavian, ''Pictori români uitați'' (Forgotten Romanian Painters), Noi media print, 2003, pg.73 * ''Michel Simonidy: 1872-1933 : album'', I. C. Advertising, 2006 * Gabriel Badea-Păun, ''Pictori romani in Franta 1834-1939'', Noi Media Print, 2012, pgs.240-245

External links

ArtNet: More works by Simonidi.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonidi, Mihail 1870 births 1933 deaths 20th-century Romanian painters Romanian emigrants to France Romanian muralists Art Nouveau painters Artists from Bucharest Romanian poster artists Romanian people of Greek descent Art Nouveau designers