Nicolae Grigorescu
1838–1907 · Romanian painter, founding figure of modern Romanian painting
Nicolae Grigorescu (Pitaru, 1838 – Câmpina, 1907) was a Romanian painter regarded as one of the founders of modern painting in his country. His work, centred mainly on rural life, made him one of the most respected Romanian artists known abroad, and Romanians today consider him their greatest painter.
Born into a modest family, he trained from 1848 in the workshop of Anton Chladek, a painter of Czech origin, where he produced icons for churches and monasteries. In 1856 he presented Wallachian Prince Barbu Știrbei with a historical composition, Mihai scăpând stindardul, together with a petition for financial help with his studies. With the support of Mihail Kogălniceanu he won a scholarship to study in Paris from 1861, where he attended the studio of Sébastien Cornu and worked alongside Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Drawn to the Barbizon school, he settled in the village and joined painters such as Millet, Corot, Courbet and Rousseau, adopting open-air painting. He showed work at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1867 and at the Salon of 1868. During the Romanian War of Independence (1877) he accompanied the army as a frontline painter, and his sketches from the battles later served for larger works. From 1890 he lived in Câmpina, painting pastoral scenes, portraits of peasant girls and ox carts. He was named honorary member of the Romanian Academy in 1899. His house in Câmpina became the Nicolae Grigorescu Memorial Museum in 1957.
His legacy remains visible in Romania: his portrait appears on the 10 lei banknote, and a Bucharest metro station has carried his name since 1990.
Works (24)
Painted in 1868 by Nicolae Grigorescu, this genre scene shows an elderly woman with a neck scarf and a cane, accompanied by a child and a goose. The tall, narrow canvas holds the figures within a sober space. The work is associated with the Barbizon school, whose painters focused on everyday rural life.
Portrait of a mocan, the Romanian term for a herdsman. Grigorescu painted it in 1867 on canvas, within the orbit of the Barbizon School, whose artists favoured direct observation of the countryside and ordinary rural people. The work is now held by the National Military Museum of Romania.
Self-portrait by Nicolae Grigorescu, painted in 1868 on canvas and held by the National Museum of Art of Romania. The record places it within the Barbizon School, linked to painting from direct observation of landscape and the figure. As a portrait of the artist by himself, it shows how a painter saw his own image, though details of its composition and circumstances of creation are not available in the sources.
This genre scene by Nicolae Grigorescu, painted in 1867 on a large canvas, is associated with the Barbizon School, a French circle that turned to direct observation of everyday life and the countryside. Available information does not detail its specific subject or commission, so the reading of the scene should rest on the image itself.
Genre scene painted in 1867 by Nicolae Grigorescu on canvas, showing an elderly woman sewing or mending. It is associated with the Barbizon School, known for its focus on rural life and direct observation of nature. Without further documentation, the commission and circumstances of its making cannot be specified, so the painting is best read through its everyday subject.
This small 1873 painting shows a hut set within a landscape, approached in a realist manner that focuses on direct observation of the surroundings and a restrained arrangement of the scene. Its modest size and use of canvas or cardboard suggest a study made from nature, although its exact purpose cannot be determined. It belongs to the landscape genre of Romanian realism.
Genre scene showing a female fisher, as the title indicates, set at Grandville. The work is painted on canvas and classified as Impressionist; its handling probably aims to capture light and everyday life rather than narrative detail. Beyond this, little can be stated with certainty about its context.
Portrait of a girl by Nicolae Grigorescu, dated around 1850 and painted on canvas according to the record. It shows a young sitter in a half-length format, a genre the Romanian painter returned to often. The record links it to Impressionism, a label worth treating with caution for a work of this early date, since the concern with colour and light had not yet taken shape as a movement at that time.
Luminiș is a landscape painted by Nicolae Grigorescu in 1896, in which the Romanian painter approaches light and colour more freely than in his earlier work. The scene is built with loose brushstrokes that suggest foliage and air without detailing every element. Its link to Impressionism is visible above all in this attention to the luminosity of the moment.
A portrait of a peasant woman from the Muscel region of Wallachia, painted by Nicolae Grigorescu. The figure appears half-length against a plain background, and the painter uses broad brushstrokes and earthy tones that give weight to the simplicity of the sitter. The work belongs to realism and reflects the interest in rural life that marks much of his output.
A tall, vertical portrait painted on canvas by Nicolae Grigorescu in 1894. Its title, Cheerful Peasant, points to the subject: a rural figure shown with a good-humoured air. It is listed as Impressionist, and the work is held by the National Museum of Art of Romania. Without further documentation, it is best read as a portrait of a common type, observed closely.
A portrait of a Roma woman from Gherghița, painted by Nicolae Grigorescu in 1872 on canvas. The work is held at the National Museum of Art of Romania. Based on the available information, it shows the painter's interest in the human figure and in the popular types of his country, handled in a restrained, direct manner.
Portrait painted by Nicolae Grigorescu in 1870 on canvas, depicting the great ban Năsturel Herescu. It belongs to the portrait genre and blends features of academicism with romanticism, two currents that often coexisted in nineteenth-century painting. The work is held by the National Museum of Art of Romania.
Where to see the work
- National Museum of Art of Romania Bucharest · 18
Teachers and pupils
Studied with
- Sébastien-Melchior Cornu 1804–1870
Pupils
- Gheorghe Petrașcu 1872–1949
Curiosities
A station with two names
Since 1990, a Bucharest metro station has borne Grigorescu's name. Before that date it was named after the communist army general Leontin Sălăjan, so the change reflects the political shift after the fall of the regime. The renaming of a public space thus also tells part of Romania's recent history.
His face on money
The 10 lei banknote of the Romanian currency features Grigorescu. That a painter appears on an everyday banknote says much about his place in national memory, beyond his standing as an artist of a particular era. Few creators reach such a level of popular recognition.
Renoir's fellow student
During his training in Paris, Grigorescu shared Sébastien Cornu's studio with Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who would later become one of the great names of Impressionism. Both were then learning in the same space, though their paths diverged. The Romanian eventually turned toward the open-air painting practised at Barbizon.