Corneliu Baba – Confessions. 1944-1965

Twenty years after the major Baba retrospective of 1997, the National Museum of Art of Romania is marking the publication of the great master’s Confessions and diaries covering the period 1944 to 1965 with an exhibition of around 70 works. Drawn from both the museum’s holdings and the artist’s collection, the selection retraces Baba’s journey from early school years to maturity, highlighting issues of plastic idiom mentioned by the artist in his memoires.

The exhibition includes a number of works presented to the public for the first time alongside photographs from the family archive. Many of the paintings and drawings reveal Baba’s almost obsessive concern with capturing his sitter’s elusive “presence”, with rendering a genuine psychological portrait, whereas notes seem to focus primarily on issues of artistry, visual idiom and colours.

The volume Confesiuni și jurnale: 1944-1965  [Confessions and diaries: 1944 – 1965, available exclusively in Romanian] is published through the diligent efforts of Ms. Maria Muscalu Albani, the artist’s legatee.

Curators: Monica Enache, Maria Muscalu Albani

National Gallery (ground floor)
2 November 2018 – 10 March 2019
Visiting hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 10.00 -18.00
Tickets: 10 lei
Free: every first Wednesday of the month