Background
He was born into a family of merchants.
He was born into a family of merchants.
In 1827, he went to Buda to study painting, but it is not known where or with who he studied, so he may have been essentially self-taught.
He was the first Romanian artist to create Western-style religious paintings. Although he worked in a variety of genres, including history painting, he is best known for his portraits. In 1833, he accepted an invitation to teach at the "Școala Centrală" (Central School) in Craiova.
He also started a family and was sufficiently successful to travel extensively, including a trip to Paris from 1847 to 1848, where he joined the circle of Romanian patriots, centered around Nicolae Bălcescu and Dimitrie Bolintineanu, among others
When he returned home, he participated in the Wallachian Revolution of 1848, having to quit his position and leave his family for fear of reprisals. After remaining under cover in his hometown for a time, he was able to secure a professorship at Saint Sava National College, thanks to the intercession of Petrache Poenaru.
One of his best-known students was Theodor Aman. Foreign the next fifteen years, he collaborated with Mișu Popp, painting murals at several churches throughout Bucharest and the nearby countryside.
Among them was the church at Curtea Veche (former home of Vlad the Impaler), the oldest religious building in Bucharest that has not been significantly altered.
lieutenant was at this time that he also established his reputation as a portrait painter. In 1870, illness forced him to retire and he painted little, although he lived for seventeen more years.