[stag_toggle style=”normal” title=”Detalii despre piesă” state=”closed”]Castelul Bran
Pastel pe carton, cca 1922
Autor Alexandru Severin (1881-1956)
Dimensiuni: I: 95 cm, La: 65 cm[/stag_toggle]
In the heritage of the Peleş National Museum there is a Romanian work of fine art, entitled Bran Castle, signed by the painter Alexandru Severin.
Balanced composition, representing the inner courtyard of the castle, a romantic, mysterious image of the new royal residence. The play of shadows and light, together with the cold tones, grays, blues and whites accentuate the brownish red of the roofs, giving a special dynamic to the work. The wrought iron lantern, placed on the arch in the foreground, is the point of delimitation of the plans. The liveliness of the composition, given by the floral suggestions scattered throughout the enclosure, on the old stone walls, is noteworthy.
Al. Severin is a remarkable artist, who in the 1920s, for almost a decade, worked as a painter of the Romanian Royal Court. In fact, for the "guilt" of having painted then views of the Peleş, Pelişor, Bran, Copăceni and Râşnov castles he paid, in the early 50s, with the price of freedom, for four years of his life. He was deliberately covered with unjust oblivion. Mr. Dr. Paul Rezeanu, director of the Craiova Art Museum, has produced a complete monograph of this artist, from which we learn important data regarding his life and artistic creation.
Painter and sculptor, almost equally, with his real name Alexandru Tălpăşin, was born on February 15, 1881, in Turnu Severin. He was a student of the “Traian” High School in his hometown, then studied sculpture at the School of Fine Arts in Bucharest, where he had a classmate, but one year older, Constantin Brâncuşi. In fact, warm, friendly relations were established between the two Olteni people. In 1903, Alexandru Severin graduated from the School of Fine Arts, then completed his military service, and in 1904 he left, mostly on foot, making a detour through Putna, to participate in the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the death of Stephen the Great – in Paris, where he intended to attend courses at the School of Belle-Arts or the Julien Academy. Due to lack of financial means, he did not finish any of these, but he managed to exhibit, starting in 1907, at the Official Salon and the Autumn Salon. Between 1909 and 1911, the artist was in Italy, where he worked for more than a year in Florence, in the studio of Professor Raffaello Romanelli, and then in Rome, where he exhibited at the International Exhibition at the end of 1911.
Returning to Paris in 1912, Severin resumed his work and exhibition activity. It was also at that time that he became friends with the poet Alexandru Macedonski. During the same period, he created several works of reference in his work: Vers l'Infini, Vălul, Bustul unui conte, several portraits-heads of elders, as well as the projects of monuments: Aurel Vlaicu, Panait Cerna, Avântul șarii. Exhibited at the Official French Salon, and in the country, at the Tinerimea Artistică, these works attracted the attention and appreciation of the public and the press.
Returning permanently to the country, in 1922, Alexandru Severin received the assignment from Queen Maria to illustrate Bran Castle, then Peles, Pelişor, Copăcenii, Balcicul and the Râşnov fortress. Here, in this regard, is one of the letters received from the Royal Palace:
Her Majesty the Queen instructs me to inform you that she would very much like you to go to Copăceni, where the irises are still in bloom, but you must hurry, as they will only last a day or two.
For ten years the artist worked within the royal palaces. Captured from different angles, in exterior overview images or painting their interiors, in the vaporous sanguine technique, his works were intended to compose representative, luxurious albums, to be given to foreign officials who visited our country. For his work, Severin asked for nothing nor did he solicit any favor. When King Ferdinand asked him, enthusiastic about his works, what he wanted as a reward, he replied:
Nothing, Your Majesty, but to serve you.
For this activity he was sentenced to ten years in communist prison, of which he actually served more than four years. After being released from detention, he lived for almost two more years. He died in Bucharest on May 16, 1956.