In Detail: Art 1900 at Peles

Promo

Promo 2

Exhibition presentation

2013 marks 110 years since the inauguration of the princely and royal residence, Pelişor Castle, and 20 years since it opened its doors to the general public, becoming a museum.

Pelișor Castle was built between 1899-1902, at the request of King Carol I, as the residence of the crown princes, Ferdinand and Maria, by the Czech architect Karel Liman (1855-1929). Inaugurated a year later, on May 24, 1903, the castle preserves the poignant memory of the one who would become the queen of all Romanians, Queen Maria, of King Ferdinand “the unifier of the nation” and of their children.

In the Inaugural Act of the castle, painted by Maria on parchment, it is recorded:

“We, Carol I, King of Romania, built this house next to the towering Peleș Castle for our beloved grandchildren. Consecrated by the church to bring the blessing of heaven, we, Ferdinand, Prince of Romania with Maria, Princess, welcomed into this new building, with grateful hearts and full of love. We entered with our children, Carol, Elisaveta and Maria, in the year of salvation 1903, and of the reign of King Carol the 37th, on May 24. We named it Pelișor.”

The inauguration celebration was attended by monarchs and crown princes, Archimandrite Nifon, senior officers of the Romanian army, personalities from the political and cultural world, and numerous locals.

The 1900s represented a transformation of mentality and an important turning point for artistic Europe through the emergence of an innovative stylistic concept, the Art Nouveau style. Princess Maria assumed the style, in its nonconformist and spectacular essence, to the point of creating the aura of an Art Nouveau character: she commissioned the architect Liman and the Viennese decorator, Bernhard Ludwig, to create bright, welcoming interiors, decorated to her taste, with Byzantine style elements, Celtic motifs, traditional Romanian motifs and a distribution of spaces subordinated to modern architecture.

After 1948, Pelișor Castle was taken over by the Romanian state, becoming the House of Creation of writers, composers and visual artists from Romania.

Following a long archival research, after 1989, the group of specialists from the MN Peleş managed to reconstruct a princely and royal space, respecting its inventory to a large extent, thus restoring to the national cultural heritage a residence of historical importance, the old Pelişor Castle. Thus, the Romanian museum space was enriched with a unique monument in Romania through its interiors decorated in the specific style of Queen Maria. The vicissitudes of history caused many valuable pieces of the old decorative art collection to be dispersed to other royal residences, so that, over the years, following the research studies undertaken, new rooms were rearranged and opened for visiting. The museum was inaugurated in February 1993.

For two decades, the museum has fully justified the hopes of its peers and the trust that Romanian society has placed in it: temporary exhibitions and scientific events have been organized here, which have enriched the historical data about the royal couple Ferdinand and Maria and the art collection through their value, thus emphasizing the museum's mission to serve truth, goodness and beauty. Twenty years represent only a beginning, indeed very promising, but conclusive for a museum that has been created and affirmed, fully proving its role for spiritual rebirth.
On the occasion of this anniversary, MN Peleş is organizing the exhibition "Art Nouveau - 110 years in Romania" at Peleş Castle, a celebration of this artistic movement since 1900.

A tea room made up of Secession furniture pieces, made in Vienna by decorator Bernhard Ludwig, will define this nature-inspired style, characterized by detailed shapes containing mostly curved, undulating lines.

Glass artists multiply technical experiments, achieving subtle combinations in translucent colors through their creations. The following will be present in the exhibition through vases and lamps of great beauty: Emil Gallé, the innovative master glassmaker from Nancy, the brothers August and Antonin Daum, René Lalique and

The talent of the colorist was revealed by the American Louis Comfort Tiffany in the glassware sets "Favrile". An opalescent glass that gives the appearance of bronze and other metals. Designing splendid paintings in stained glass with a chalcedony appearance, Tiffany remained famous for his lamps with naturalistic motifs. The Wisteria lamp, dated 1906, unique in Romania, will be the most spectacular glass work of the exhibition.

Arta 1900 revalues ceramics. Among the exhibited pieces will be the bust "Daphne", a porcelain masterpiece signed by the Belgian creator Isidor de Rudder.

Silver and bronze works by artists Max Strőbl from Munich and Gustav Gurschner from Vienna will complete the gala of Queen Maria's important Art Nouveau collection.

In the entire graphic and pictorial production of artists since 1900, we will invariably encounter the female type, as a symbol of life, beauty and fecundity in the works signed by Alphonse Mucha, Karl Storck or the representatives of the Artistic Youth, present in the exhibition.

The Art Nouveau style defined both the end and the beginning of a century, giving personality to an era and encompassing all artistic genres related to the exterior or interior environment.

Queen Elizabeth and especially Queen Maria of Romania completed the collection of the Royal House, initially established by King Carol I, with important acquisitions of Art Nouveau pieces, happily reunited at Pelişor Castle in Sinaia.

Visiting the Exhibition

The exhibition was visited during:
September 22 – December 22, 2013