Nicolae Grigorescu was a prominent Romanian painter who helped establish modern Romanian painting in the 19th century. He was born in 1838 in Pitaru, Romania and showed an early aptitude for painting icons and church murals. Grigorescu later received a scholarship to study art in Paris where he was influenced by realist styles like the Barbizon school. He painted landscapes, portraits, and scenes of rural life, often depicting the people and landscapes of Romania in an realistic, detailed style. Grigorescu helped promote Romanian art both at home and abroad and was named an honorary member of the Romanian Academy later in his career.

1. Nicolae Grigorescu Romanian Painter (1838 – 1907) Music: George Enescu – Romanian Rapsody PPS by Florin Popescu

2. Self-portrait

3. Nicolae Grigorescu ( May 15 , 1838 —July 2 1 , 1907) was one of the founders of modern Romania painting. He was born in Pitaru village , Romania. In 1843 the family moved to Buc arest . At a young age (between 1848 and 1850), he became an apprentice at the workshop of the painter and created icons for the church and the monastery .. Between 1856 and 1857, he painted the church of the Zamfira monastery, Prahova county, and in 1861 the church of the Agapia monastery . H e received a scholarship to study in France. In the autumn of 1861, young Grigorescu left for Paris, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts. He also attended the workshop of , where he had as a colleague Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Knowing his weaknesses, he concentrated drawing and composition. However, he soon left this workshop and, attracted by the artistic concepts of the Barbizon school, he left Paris for that village, where he became the associate of artists such as Jean-François Millet, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet and Théodore Rousseau. Under the influence of the movement, Grigorescu looked for new means of expression and followed the trend of en plein air painting, which was also important in Impressionism. As part of the Universal Exposition of Paris (1867), he contributed seven works. Then he exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1868 the painting Tânără ţigancă ( Gypsy girl ). He returned to Romania a few times and starting in 1870 he participated in the exhibits of living artists and those organized by the Society of the Friends of the Belle-Arts. Between 1873 and 1874 he traveled to Italy, Greece and Vienna. In 1877 he was called to accompany the Romanian Army as a "frontline painter" in the Romanian War of Independence. In 1889 his work was featured in the Universal Exhibition in Paris and at the Romanian Atheneum. From 1879 to 1890 he worked in France, especially in Vitré, Bretagne, and in his workshop in Paris. In 1890 he settled in Câmpina and started depicting pastoral themes, especially portraits of peasant girls, pictures of ox carts on dusty country roads and other landscapes. He was named honorary member of the Romanian Academy in 1899.

4. S mall M ug With Flowers

5. Artillerist s In March

6. Foot Soldier Bugler

7. F an c y-dress ed Man

8. Watchman From Chailly

9. C abin In The Forest

10. W aggon C ar With Oxen

11. W aggon C ar With Four Oxen

12. S hepherd B oy

13. Girl With H andkerchief

14. At Gate

15. Little Girl With H andkerchief

16. Countrywoman (Head)

17. Fischerwoman At Grandville

18. R oadside I nn

19. R oadside I nn

20. Jew With Goose

21. T wilight

22. Return From Fishing

23. Girl With D istaff

24. Old Woman Darning

25. M arguerite s

26. S tillife With W oodcock s

27. On The B ank O f Siret R iver

28. On The Top Of The Mountain

29. Forest L andscape

30. Girl At The Creek

31. Gipsy Woman

32. Naked Woman

33. Washerwom e n In Bretagne

34. Countrywoman With V ery T hin R aw S ilk H eadkerchief

35. M ontane Countrywoman

36. Countrywoman From Muscel County

37. Cheerful Countrywoman