The National Museum of Art of Romania (Romanian: Muzeul Naţional de Artă al României) is located in the former royal palace in Revolution Square, central Bucharest, Romania, completed in 1937. It features notable collections of medieval and modern Romanian art, as well as the international collection assembled by the Romanian royal family.
The museum was damaged during the 1989 Romanian Revolution that led to the downfall of Nicolae Ceauşescu. In 2000, part of the museum reopened to the public, housing the modern Romanian collection and the international collection; the comprehensive Medieval art collection, which now features works salvaged from monasteries destroyed during the Ceauşescu era, reopened in spring 2002. There are also two halls that house temporary exhibits.
The modern Romanian collection features sculptures by Constantin Brâncuşi and Dimitrie Paciurea, as well as paintings by Theodor Aman, Nicolae Grigorescu, Theodor Pallady, Gheorghe Petraşcu, and Gheorghe Tattarescu.
The international collection includes works by Old Masters such as Domenico Veneziano, El Greco, Tintoretto, Jan van Eyck, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Peter Paul Rubens, and Rembrandt, plus a smattering of works by impressionists such as Claude Monet and Alfred Sisley. Among the most famous Old Master works in the collection are Jacopo Amigoni's portrait of the singer Farinelli, a Crucifixion by Antonello da Messina, and Alonso Cano's Christ at the Column.
Other noteworthy non-Romanian paintings are
- Bernardino Licinio's "Return of Prodigal Son"
- Hans von Aachen's "3 Graces"
- Aegidius Sadeler's "Hall of Hradcany"
- Bartholomäus Zeitblom's "Saint Barbara"
- Claude Monet's "Camille in Green Dress"
- Paul Signac's "Gate"
In the Modern Romanian Section, the following painters are also represented:
- Nicolae Grigorescu
- Stefan Luchian
- Cecilia Cuțescu-Storck
- Nicolae Tonitza
- Herman Maxy
- Victor Brauner
Famous quotes containing the words national, museum and/or art:
“Humanism, it seems, is almost impossible in America where material progress is part of the national romance whereas in Europe such progress is relished because it feels nice.”
—Paul West (b. 1930)
“I have no connections here; only gusty collisions,
rootless seedlings forced into bloom, that collapse.
...
I am the Visiting Poet: a real unicorn,
a wind-up plush dodo, a wax museum of the Movement.
People want to push the buttons and see me glow.”
—Marge Piercy (b. 1936)
“How dost, my boy? Art cold?
I am cold myself. Where is this straw, good fellow?
The art of our necessities is strange
And can make vile things precious.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)