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Sculpture collection

To date, the sculpture collection comprises a relatively limited number of pieces (485). Nevertheless, the collection of Romanian sculpture allows for an overview of the evolution of this artistic genre through the works of renowned figures such as Ion Jalea, Romul Ladea, Egon Mark Löwith, Corneliu Medrea, Dimitrie Paciurea, Szervátiusz Jenő, and Ion Vlasiu.

Ion Jalea was born in 1887 in Casimcea, Tulcea County. After graduating in 1908 from the School of Arts and Crafts, he pursued studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest, where he was taught by sculptors Frederik Storck and Dimitrie Paciurea. He completed his artistic training in Paris, at the Académie Julian, in the studio of Antoine Bourdelle. His artistic vision is based on a fine observation of reality, occasionally incorporating references to ancient mythology. A conclusive example is the work entitled Centaur, which is featured in the permanent exhibition of the National Gallery of the Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca.

Romul Ladea was born in 1901 in Jitin. He enrolled at the School of Fine Arts in Bucharest in 1922, in the sculpture class of Dimitrie Paciurea, where he learned respect for the grammar of plastic form, the interaction between volume and surface, and the modeling capable of expressing emotional intensity. He participated in the exhibitions of the group “Ciupe, Bogdan, Ladea,” which were exceptionally well received by the press of the time. In 1926, a long-desired goal of the Transylvanian artistic movement was achieved with the founding of the School of Fine Arts in Cluj, where, according to Eugen Pascu, Romul Ladea became head of the sculpture department in 1927.

Egon Mark Löwith was born in 1923 in Cluj-Napoca and emigrated that same year with his family to Mexico, from where, due to hardship, he returned to Cluj-Napoca in 1936. As a sculptor, he is closely associated with the Cluj artistic environment, first as a student and later as a professor at the “Ion Andreescu” Institute of Fine Arts. Marked by evident originality, the artistic motifs of his creations emerge through a purification of reality, based on the use of material, surface, and color, transforming into true emblems of life stages, of growth, or of triumph through struggle.

Corneliu Medrea, born in 1888 in Miercurea Sibiului, created an impressive body of work, exercising his artistic talents across all sculptural genres and techniques. After studying in Budapest and visiting various European museums, the artist settled in Romania, where he developed a broad-ranging oeuvre. His work critiqued the violence of World War II, included monumental art, and reflected, through his artistic thought, on the native visual experience.

Dimitrie Paciurea is one of the most representative artists in the museum’s sculpture collection. He was born in 1873 in Bucharest, and between 1895 and 1899, studied at the School of Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, later enrolling at the École des Beaux-Arts. Between 1898 and 1899, he also studied at the Académie Julian. The undeniable originality of Dimitrie Paciurea was expressed through an approach that amplified and enriched the meanings of reality through unusual compositions, guided by a symbolic program unknown before him.

Szervátiusz Jenő was born in Cluj-Napoca in 1903. His natural talent was complemented by a solid education at the École Libre de Beaux-Arts (1925–1927), where he encountered the “great sculpture” of antiquity and modernity displayed in French museums, reinforcing his belief in the expressive power of the materials generously provided by nature itself. Among these, wood became his material of choice. In 1927, he returned to Cluj-Napoca and enrolled in the School of Fine Arts under the guidance of sculptor Romul Ladea. Art critics have noted the undeniable value of Szervátiusz Jenő’s work, in which he perceives human forms within the fibers and knots of wood, gracefully revealing them with remarkable expressiveness.

Ion Vlasiu was born in 1908 in Lechința de Mureș. He was equally recognized as a sculptor, painter, and writer, creating memorable works in each of these fields, which were admired by art critics. His creative beginnings are connected to the artistic environment of Cluj, where he was a student of Romul Ladea at the School of Fine Arts in Cluj (1929–1930). He made his debut in 1932 in Târgu Mureș and went on to exhibit in Cluj, Timișoara, and Bucharest. He had a prolific career as a monumental sculptor. His work was profoundly influenced by contact with popular culture. His recourse to folk concepts, symbols, and stylistic elements (in the early 1960s) had the merit of resisting the constraining canons of socialist realism.

The collection of the Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca includes works by some of the most renowned sculptors, recognized both nationally and internationally.