From October 8, 2025
THEMATIC EXHIBITION AT THE THEODOR AMAN MUSEUM
“Great Personalities. Portraits from the Collection of the Theodor Aman Museum”
The exhibition “Great Personalities. Portraits from the Collection of the Theodor Aman Museum” highlights an important segment of the museum’s heritage—one that is essential for understanding the artist’s work and development, as well as the role Theodor Aman played in capturing the details of the era in which he lived and in preserving the memory of his contemporaries.
This exhibition presents five portraits of well-known figures who lived during the artist’s lifetime—large-scale oil paintings on canvas created by Theodor Aman at the beginning of his artistic career. These paintings enjoyed a well-deserved rest while the museum building underwent an extensive consolidation and restoration process, after which they were no longer included in the new permanent display, making room for other restored works intended to provide a more comprehensive image of all stages of the artist’s creation.
Through this initiative, we bring back into the public eye canvases that preserve the faces of five personalities: Zoe Mavrocordat Brâncoveanu, Elena Cuza, Barbu Catargiu, Maria Davila, and Ana Davila—five individuals who lived, dreamed, and fought for noble ideals, each with their own life story and sometimes tragic destinies that, by a twist of fate, intersected. Such is the case of the Davila ladies and Elena Cuza, whose names are linked to the same cherished project initiated by Dr. Carol Davila: the children’s orphanage that later became the Elena Doamna Asylum.
The exhibition provides an opportunity to analyze the way the artist relates to the figures he portrays. Beyond the official representation demanded by the social status of some protagonists, these portraits stand as proof of the painter’s mastery, demonstrated through the special attention given to detail and the rigor with which he depicts the preciousness of materials and clothing accessories. In viewing Theodor Aman’s portraits, one can notice an enormous qualitative leap from the outdated formula of conventional official portraits and appreciate the artist’s ability to go beyond surface layers, capturing the psychology of the individuals depicted.
The exhibition highlights, on the one hand, Theodor Aman’s qualities as a great portraitist and the privileged position he attained through the value of his artistic and organizational work, as well as his connections with important figures of his time. On the other hand, it brings into discussion the role of the state as a commissioner of artworks, through and for its various institutions, and not least, it underscores aspects of the activity of the personalities portrayed—most often related to philanthropic endeavors—that left a mark on Romanian society in the second half of the 19th century.
Several items from the collections of the Systematic Archaeology and History Department and the Heritage and Centralized Records Department of the Bucharest Municipality Museum complement the image we wished to offer of these personalities—people who, each in their own sphere, contributed to social well-being and to the emergence of the modern Romanian state, which was then in its formative years.
The exhibition can be visited from October 8, 2025, to April 30, 2026.
Ionela Bucșa Șerban, Curator