Thematic exhibition at Suțu Palace – Tudor Vladimirescu and the Cultural Memory of the Revolution of 1821

Thematic exhibition at Suțu Palace

Tudor Vladimirescu and the Cultural Memory of the Revolution of 1821

The moment of 1821 has a special significance in the Romanian historiography, given by the voluminous bibliography dedicated both to the development of the events, and to the personality of Tudor Vladimirescu, the leader of the revolution.

Aiming to mark 200 years since the event, this exhibition envisages capitalizing on the heritage of the Bucharest Municipality Museum’s collections. The theme of the exhibition focuses on the personality of Tudor Vladimirescu, the context of the movement of 1821 and his transformation into a national hero, starting with the second half of the 19th century. The exhibition project proposes a new perspective on the personality of Tudor Vladimirescu, emphasizing the historical context of the movement and its personality, its role in the administration of the Phanariot regime.

The Romanian historiography dedicated to the Revolution of 1821 follows several directions: the character of the movement, its social implications, tributes paid to the leader of the revolution and the consequences of the events. From a quantitative point of view, the studies and analyzes of the images of the revolution are relatively few and carried out fragmentarily. Therefore, how many representations prior to the portrait painted by Aman exist and can we establish affiliations between the previous images and those made post-event? It is also interesting to note what impact the Revolution of 1821 had on the visual arts and what artistic works resulted.

Using objects from several collections of the museum, the exhibition project aims to highlight the diversity of the Bucharest Municipality Museum’s heritage and bring a new perspective on the subject of the Revolution of 1821, focusing on the personality of Tudor Vladimirescu. In addition, the inclusion of heritage objects from the custody of the National Museum of Art of Romania, the National History Museum of Romania, the Museum of the Romanian Peasant and the National Film Archive contributes to a dialogue between cultural institutions which have already an open communication channel, and to promote the heritage of the Bucharest Municipality Museum in a broader context.

Curator: Roxana Coman, museographer