Impressionist Painters - Ion Andreescu

Romfilatelia introduces into circulation on Friday, July 18th of this year a philatelic issue dedicated to a leading representative of Romanian fine arts, Ion Andreescu. Titled Impressionist Painters. Ion Andreescu, the issue consists of four postage stamps and two First Day Covers.

Born on February 15th, 1850, in Bucharest, Ion Andreescu first attended primary school at the private boarding school of Andreas Apostolas, then continued his studies at the ‘Gheorghe Lazăr’ Lower Secondary School and the ‘Saint Sava’ High-School in Bucharest. Starting in 1869, he became a student at the ‘School of Fine Arts,’ led by Theodor Aman.

After graduating in 1872, Ion Andreescu became a teacher of Linear Drawing and Calligraphy at the Theological Seminary in Buzău, which was led by Bishop Dionisie Romano – a well-known scholar and founder of Romanian education, who was eager to have the most qualified teachers in schools.

Among the ten professors at the Seminary, Ion Andreescu, at just 22 years old, was regarded as a young man with an excellent education and remarkable artistic talent.

To complete his teaching load, he would later teach, starting in 1873, at the ‘Tudor Vladimirescu’ Lower Secondary School and, from 1875, at the City of Buzău’s School of Crafts.

His teaching period coincided with the beginning and formation of his career as a painter, during which he created some of his most well-known works in the Buzău region, including Stejarul (The Oak Tree), Bâlci de Drăgaică (Drăgaica Fair), Piață la Buzău (Market in Buzău), and Stradă în Buzău (Street in Buzău).

Describing the painter’s activity during his formative years, shaped by the atmosphere of the Buzău landscapes, the great art critic Henri Focillon referred to Andreescu as ‘this modest drawing teacher who was richly endowed with the gifts of both a poet and a painter’.

At the end of 1878, the painter left for Paris as a scholarship recipient, where he attended courses at the ‘Julian’ Academy. In May 1879, he took part in the Paris Salon with two works: ‘Începutul primăverii’ (‘The Beginning of Spring’) and ‘Bâlci în România’ (‘Fair in Romania’). After the Salon closed, he went to Barbizon, where he worked alongside Grigorescu.

A year later, he participated again in the Paris Salon with two works: ‘Drumul mare’ (‘The Main Road’) and ‘Pădurea de fagi’ (‘The Beech Forest’) (the latter purchased by Take Ionescu).

Art critics appreciate that Andreescu’s plein air painting is what created the link between Barbizon landscape painting and fully developed Impressionism.

An exhibition opened in the spring of 1882 can be considered the only comprehensive retrospective of his work held during the artist’s lifetime, where 60 works were displayed and later acquired by the state and private collectors.

The painter passed away in 1882, at only 32 years old, suffering from phthisis.

The postage stamps of the philatelic issue reproduce four works by the painter Ion Andreescu, which are part of the patrimony of the National Museum of Art of Romania Cusătorese în pădure (The Seamstresses in the forest), the face value of Lei 8; Ulcică cu tufănele (Jug with Peonies), the face value of Lei 11; the Museum of the City of Bucharest Cap de tânăr (Young Man’s Head), the face value of Lei 6; and the ‘Ion Ionescu Quintus’ Art Museum Ghiveci cu Garoafe (Flowerpot with Carnations), the face value of Lei 5.

The First Day Covers feature backgrounds reproducing the paintings Câmp în amurg (Field at Dusk) and Târg la Buzău (Fair at Buzău) (both part of the collection of the ‘Ion Ionescu Quintus’ Art Museum – Prahova) – alongside two postage stamps issued in 1972 and 1975, each depicting a self-portrait.

Romfilatelia thanks the representatives of the National Museum of Art of Romania, the Museum of the City of Bucharest and ‘Ion Ionescu Quintus’ Art Museum for the documentary support provided in the development of this issue postage stamps.