Pictures from Dec. 26

I recently visited the hottest street in Bucharest of street art. It was, appropriately, named after Arthur Verona, a painter. Though he would not recognize the style of the artwork on his street, I think he would appreciate the gesture.

I am not as up on all the obscure Romanian personages as I should be, so I looked him up. He was a turn of the century artist who gave up a military career to paint. He studied in Vienna, Paris and Munich before settling in Bucharest. He was part of the "Baia Mare" school of painters and worked on landscapes, portraits, nudes, and fresco work, particulary at the Catacuzino Palace in Bucharest. His workshop in Piata Victoriei burned down, unfortunately, so a great deal of his original work has been lost to time.

His work was exhibited in many European cities, from Vienna to Brussels. He was recognized by many royal heads, including Queen Marie of Romania. Unfortunately, after the invasion of the Germans in WWI, his character was called into question for spending so much time studying under German artists. After this, many began to criticize his work, partially because of prejudice that remained after the war. Before he was to retire, his workshop burned down one last time. He died in 1946 in Bucharest, forgotten and misunderstood.

Obviously, his name was restored enough to name a street after him.

Also, I would like to point out that not all the streets in Bucharest are covered in graffiti, I just happen to always have a camera handy when I run into one (not literally).

Lets see what other streets come my way.

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