Background
Popescu was born in Fințești, Buzau, Romania, on January 20, 1872, to a poor family.
Akademiestraße 2-4, 80799 Munich, Germany
Ștefan Popescu studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich under the guidance of Professor Nikolaos Gyzis from 1894.
Calea Griviței 28, Bucharest 010702, Romania
Since 1922 Popescu had worked for a short time as a professor at the Bucharest National University of Arts.
1901
Ștefan Popescu and Gheorghe Petrascu set up the foundations of an artistic group of Romanian painters who went to Paris, called Tinerimea artistică, on December 3, 1901.
Akademiestraße 2-4, 80799 Munich, Germany
Ștefan Popescu studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich under the guidance of Professor Nikolaos Gyzis from 1894.
Ștefan Popescu and Gheorghe Petrascu set up the foundations of an artistic group of Romanian painters who went to Paris, called Tinerimea artistică, on December 3, 1901.
Calea Griviței 28, Bucharest 010702, Romania
Since 1922 Popescu had worked for a short time as a professor at the Bucharest National University of Arts.
Portrait by Eustațiu Stoenescu.
Popescu was born in Fințești, Buzau, Romania, on January 20, 1872, to a poor family.
Ștefan Popescu studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich under the guidance of Professor Nikolaos Gyzis and later at the Paris Academy of Art, where he was trained by Lucien Simon and Eugene Anatole Carriere, between 1894 and 1899. In 1900 he went to Paris and then to Brittany accompanied by Gheorghe Petrescu. He later studied anatomy in Bucharest.
Popescu had the first group exhibition at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest in 1901. In three years he held his first solo exhibition in Paris.
In 1906 he started a lottery in Bucharest in order to help his friend Constantin Brâncuşi with his money. Among other members of this business were Vasile C. Motrin, Dr. C. Cantacuzino and Dimitrie Geronta. The main prize of the lottery was the artwork Child (Bronze Version). Victor N. Popp, the future collector of Constantin Brâncuşi's works, became the winner.
Ștefan Popescu had lived with his friend Constantin Brancusi in the Montparnasse neighbourhood in Paris since 1909. In 1910 he became a founding member of the Romanian Friendly Association of Paris under the auspices of the Romanian minister. The association included George Enescu, Theodor Pallady, Edouard de Max, Gheorghe Marculescu, Constantin Brâncuşi, Levaditi and Virgil V. Stănescu.
During the following years, he travelled a lot and painted in France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Alger, Morocco, Tunisia, and Germany. He regularly exhibited his works at the Tinerimea artistică up to 1924 and the official salons until 1946.
Like many of his contemporaries, Popescu was fascinated by Balchik landscapes which he painted with great pleasure. In 1922 with the help of the Intim Circle he organized an exhibition in Balchik. Cecilia Cuţescu Storck, Jean Alexandru Steriadi, Gheorghe Petraşcu were among the participants of the show. From 1922 he worked for a short time as a professor at the Bucharest National University of Arts.
Ștefan Popescu took part in the Venice Biennale three times, in 1924, 1938, 1942; at the Romanian art exhibition, the Jeu de Paume Museum, Paris, in 1925. In 1926 he produced illustrations for the book of poems (Florica), written by his friend Ion Pillat.
In 1936 and 1937 Popescu held group exhibitions along with Iosif Iser and Gheorghe Petrascu. In 1936 he also participated in the International Exhibition in Brussels.
Ştefan Popescu was an outstanding artist of Romania who was respected and beloved in other countries as well. His best-known artworks are Cape Caliacra, During Rain, Harvesting, Lot Valley, Blue Landscape, Autumn Landscape, Houses on the Hill. He was one of the most beloved Romanian painters by Queen Maria of Romania and the Royal House of Romania.
As a graphic designer, Popescu created a great number of artworks (sketches, landscapes) in different techniques, which were remarked by a sensitivity of perception and rigour of performance.
Popescu was a recipient of a number of awards. In 1904 he was awarded the Gold medal at the Münchner Sezession International Exhibition. Ştefan Popescu obtained the National Order of the Legion of Honour in 1925, the distinction awarded by the French State. He received the National Prize for Painting in 1928, and the prize from the international exhibition in Paris in 1937.
Today, works by Ştefan Popescu are in numerous museums in Romania, but also in private collections in France, Germany, Austria, Algeria, Italy, Morocco, Tunisia. His paintings can be found in the National Museum of Art of Romania, the Constanta Art Museum, the Argeș County Museum, the Museum of Art Collections, etc.
Landscape from Câmpulung
Houses at Bonnieux
Inessential Store
Cape Caliacra
Roofs under Snow
Forest Vista
Landscape from Provence
Still Life with Gourd
Sunday
Gulf in Villefranche-sur-Mer
Olt Valley
The Garden of Finistere Chapel
Winter Landscape
Summer Landscape
Yawls in the Lagoon
Jardin du Luxembourg
Sunset Over Chioggia
During Rain
Harvesting
Street from Bretania
Caliacra
Blue Landscape
Beginning of Autumn
Street from Bretania
Houses on the Hill
Still Life with Flowers
Autumn Landscape
Veranda with Flowers
Marrakech
On the River Shore
At the Shadow of Walnut Trees
Eforie Seashore
Landscape with Houses
Houses in Provence
Cape Caliacra
Landscape with Stronghold
Autumn Landscape
Ștefan Popescu and Gheorghe Petrascu set up the foundations of an artistic group of Romanian painters who went to Paris, called Tinerimea artistică, on December 3, 1901. The association included such artists as Frederik Storck, Ipolit Strâmbescu, Kimon Loghi, Nicolae Vermont.
In 1905 Popescu became a member of the Cercle des étudiants roumains group. Among its other members were Traian Vuia, Constantin Brâncuşi, George Enescu, Ion Pillat, Ion Theodorescu Sion, Nicolae Dărăscu, Camil Ressu, Eustatheu Stoenescu, Theodor Cornel and others.
Ștefan Popescu became an associate of the Paris National Art Salon and a member of such corporate groupings as Munich Sezession and Künstlergenossenschaft in 1908.
Popescu was known to be a founding member of the Romanian Friendly Association of Paris in 1910 and the Gruparea Arta nouă in 1937.
Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) was a Romanian-born French painter, photographer and sculptor, who represented Modernism movement. He was one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century, who simplified figurative forms, composing works in bronze, marble, stone and wood. His work revealed the beauty of pure form in sculpture, but he endowed it with an organic mystery.
