The most important summer event of the Romanian art market – Summer auction – brings together 203 works of art, signed by the great masters of Romanian art, worth more than 1 million euros. The event, scheduled for Tuesday, June 20, is known not only for masterpieces signed by Nicolae Grigorescu, Ioan Andreescu, Nicolae Tonica, Teodor Palladi, Teodor Aman, Gheorghe Petrascu, Samuel Mutzner, Ion Shuculescu or Alexandru Cucurenko, but also for the provenance from authoritative collections or from a family of famous artists. The most important collections of the Summer Auction are the collections of the reunited Istrati-Grigorescu family and Dr. Valeriu Tempe.

The presence, for the first time, of works of art from prestigious historical collections is an event in itself, offering an in-depth look at the evolution of art and the artistic influences of different periods. Some of the works in the Istrati-Grigorescu collection were inherited from Gheorghe Grigorescu, brother of the artist Nicolae Grigorescu, whose daughter Lucia Grigorescu passed them on to her granddaughter through an inheritance, from whose estate they are now being sold. At the same time, her father was married to Julia Aurora Istrati, the sister of the painter Alexandra Istrati, who together with his wife Natalia Dumitrescu were friends and heirs in the will of the great Constantine Brancusi. Therefore, the work “Return from the Field”, signed by the national artist Nicolae Grigorescu and which is part of the favorite thematic cycle of the artist in the mature phase of his work, has a double noble origin. The painting, marked with the “white period” matrix, has a starting price of 20,000 euros. The graphic works signed by Nicolae Grigorescu share the same provenance, such as the Portrait of Zettina Urechia, which starts at €1,800 and the Artist’s Self-Portrait from €1,000.

At the same time, from the collection of the same reunited Istrati-Grigorescu family comes six colorful paintings signed by the Romanian artist Alexandru Istrati, a prominent figure of interwar Parisian modernism, and later, in the 1950s-1980s, abstraction. Réalités Nouvelles circle, on the occasion of which Istrati was to be exhibited in major galleries and museums in France and the world. Paintings from his modernist period appear at the summer auction, such as “Green Blouse”, which starts at €1,500, and “Model”, “Still Life with a Whistle” and “Still Life with Quince”, which start at €1,000 , and “Still Life with Art Album and Whistle” and “Red Turban” have a starting price of 900 euros.

Another fine collection is that of Dr. Valeriu Tempe, an art connoisseur who chose only important artists for himself, from the late 19th century to the great contemporaries of the 1980s. Descendant of a Transylvanian family from Šia Brasov, Valeriu Tempe became a prominent physician in Bucharest, but also an innovator inspired by the desire to contribute to a change of mentality both professionally and in society. His passion for collecting art and beauty was passed on to his daughter Livia, who married the famous art critic Mircea Deak, with whom she created a wonderful collection, located in a house-museum on Occidentului Street in Bucharest, a place of study and internship for young art historians or collectors from Bucharest.

Subsequently, references to Dr. Tempe’s collection became more and more frequent in fine art exhibitions and in specialized studies. One of his works presented at the Summer Auction is “Still Life with Glasses and Shredders”, signed by Theodore Palladi. The starting price of the work of the “unsurpassed master of composition” is 12,000 euros. From the same collection comes the work “With a boat on the lake” signed by Teodor Aman with a starting price of 8,000 euros. Dr. Valeriu Tempea’s collection also includes an impressive sculpture by Corneliu Medrea, a large “Christ” made of plaster painted in two colors. The starting price of the sculpture is 2,500 euros. The writer and art critic Oscar Walter Cisek placed Cornel Medrea in a place of honor next to Brancusi, especially in the science of the transfer of body plastics.

Each of the works from the three historical collections can enter a new genuine art collection of a lover of authentic Romanian art and the right circle of heirlooms during the public sale. In addition, the works presented at the event on June 20 bring the owners not only cultural capital and a smart investment, but also the opportunity to participate in the development and maturity of the Romanian art market.

Along with important works from the aforementioned prestigious collections, other important works also appear, such as the work of Ioan Andreescu, perhaps the rarest of our great masters. Next week, the work “Country Houses” by Andreescu, one of the first representatives of Romanian Impressionism, will be presented at the auction. The work, with a starting price of 40,000 euros, typical of the early period when the artist was in the Buzău region, is in the archive of the famous art critic Radu Bohdan and certified on the back by Kamil Ressu.

All reference works of the Summer Auction, signed by great masters of Romanesque art and originating from famous historical collections, can be admired free of charge in the Cesianu-Rakovice Palace at KA Rosetti Street, no. 5 or online at artmark.ro. Exhibition opening hours: Monday-Sunday, 10:00-20:00. The “Summer Auction Including the Collections of Istrati-Grigorescu and Dr. Valeriu Tempe” will be held on Tuesday, June 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the InterContinental Athénée Palace, Regina Maria Hall.

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