He was one of the best Romanian artists of all time and a huge influence upon 20th century national art, with countless imitators and many more admirers, drawn by his original style, impressive quantity of works and themes, overall his artistic presence. One can not imagine contemporary Romanian art without his mark.
Corneliu Baba was born in 1906 in Craiova and studied in Bucharest, both at the Fine Arts Academy and at the Literature and Philosophy Faculty, a dual training that would make it's mark later upon his works and style, as the artist was in perfect equilibrium with the lover of literature and writing. After graduating both, in 1930, Baba settled in Iasi, where he enrolled at the Fine Arts Academy, among his friend and coleagues being another major Romanian artist, Tonitza.
From there on, he became one of the masters of Romanian paintings, greatly influencial and respected, considered to be an inspiration and teacher by younger generations. Despite the hardships and often obstacles, he continued to work in his own manner, choosing the subjects and themes that he liked, in an original and hard to imitate style. Aside from the countless exhibitions hosted in his country, Baba's works travelled all around the globe, being presented in major shows in Tokyo, Berlin, New York, Moscow, Vienna and many other cities.
He was a member of the Romanian Academy, of the Arts Academy in Berlin, of the "Tommaso Campanella" Academy in Rome, and also taught at the University of Iasi and Bucharest, being one of the most popular professors ever. He tried to transmit to his students the importance of a classical artistic education, as his main interest was trying to adapt the art and trends of the 20th century to the major values of the past. Maybe this is why is artistic universe was mostly traditional, as he favoured landscapes, portraits and genre scenes, mostly rural, in a style that was both bold and classical.
Almost geometrical in it's appearance, with numerous elements which came from the long time study of classical art, his style was instantly recognisable. Rather than giving his tribute to the ever changing fashions and experiments, Baba preffered a classical approach. Which proved to be a winning one.
2008-05-27
