Radu Oltean is a very special character. Why is he special? Because, firstly, he has a rare job. Then he is one of the best specialists in the world at what he does. Yes, he has work, I repeat, rare, the work of an illustrator and, above all, an illustrator who focused on historical themes. These were the reasons why I wanted to talk. To find out what exactly motivates him, how he came to this kind of work, and then how much it means both to the person doing it and last but not least to the general public in Romania.

Radu Oltean graduated from the Academy of Arts in Bucharest in 1997. He made his debut together with Neagu Dzuvara with a series of works dedicated to a youth audience: “How the Romanian Nation Was Born” – 2001, “Mirce the Great and His Battles with the Turks” – 2001, “From Vlad the Impaler to Dracula the Vampire” – 2003.

Later, he decided to publish as the sole author, both as a graphic artist and as a writer, a series of volumes published both at home and abroad: Dacia: Războaiele cu romanii * Sarmizegetusa – 2014, Citadels, castles and other fortifications in Romania – 2020, Getae Burebista and their world – 2021, etc.

His volumes are those in which a huge amount of work can be seen from the first pages. One time, one documentary, in-depth study of each historical period touched by the author. Then the attention to detail and the quality of the illustrations. As he himself says, it takes whole days and nights to give life to every image, every detail, details that go from the architecture of fortresses and houses to those related to harnesses or items of clothing. First of all, this is the work of a person who wanted to offer in images and data a version as close as possible to the truth of ancient or recent history. One that would be purged of nationalistic, stale, or proto-chronic ideas that, he admits, have always left a bitter aftertaste.

What Radu Oltean has to say about his work, what influenced his choice on this path, about his future projects and much more, we invite you to find out by watching the video material.

Main ideas:

• Childhood in the communist period was such that it is difficult for modern children to imagine. In general, almost all children had the same reference points for illustrations and images that they could draw in their imagination on a historical or science-related topic: Pif comic magazines, Rahan collection, zoological atlas, Cutezătorii magazine, stamps or several museums , where there were collections and exhibits related to the evolution of man and life in general.
• Even if the sources were extremely few, compared to what exists in the market today, Romania had exceptional graphic artists, and I would only name here Ion Tom or Valentin Tenase, people who captivated whole generations of children with the illustrations they created in books. and magazines up to 1989. In fact, they were the ones who created future generations of graphic designers and illustrators, among whom was Radu Oltean. And this, even if he admits it, the illustrations of that time were far from reality. Actually, the very desire
• For an illustrator who wants to fully respect historical truth, documentary work becomes almost a form of fanaticism. And this is not only a period of study in libraries and archives. This means fieldwork, it means visiting archaeological sites, places, cities and areas with a rich history. Then there are whole nights in which you create in your mind the image of every detail: a shoe, a pair of boots, a smoking pipe, tiles on a shabby house.
• “I wanted to fill the void. To illustrate the period of the Getae during the time of Burebista, and then the period of the Daco-Roman wars, to offer an image of the world at that time as close as possible to reality, and to somehow fight against all the Dacopathian, nationalist and protochronist ideas that have attacked us since the communist period. Basically, I wanted to give a face to the history of that time.”
• “I have thought about the idea of ​​immigration more than once. Maybe I would make more money in another country. Maybe I would have been more successful. Although, if I think about it, I’m still successful now. But success is not measured by earnings. In conclusion, at least now, in the age we live in, the satisfaction is more soulful.”
• “I have at least three or four projects planned for the next 10 years. I want to complete the second volume related to the Daco-Roman period. I am now diligently working on a volume dedicated to Tudor Vladimirescu and the tumultuous period in which he lived. Another project is related to an extremely interesting period of the so-called “lost millennium” of history. Between the departure of the Romans from Dacia and the appearance of Basarab I”.