Nicolae Tonitza

Nicolae Tonitza was born in Bârlad on April 13, 1886, the first of five children of Anastasia and Neculai Toniță. From an early age, he showed a remarkable affinity for drawing.

He attended Primary School No. 2 for boys and the “Manolache K. Epureanu” Gymnasium in Bârlad. In 1902, he left the city to pursue studies at the National School of Fine Arts in Iași, where his teachers included the painters Gheorghe Popovici and Emanoil Bardasare.

He did not obtain his graduation diploma after participating in a student strike. He later studied at the Royal Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, without completing his studies, traveling and settling for short periods in Italy and France.

After gaining impressions and experience, he returned to Romania and completed his formal education at the National School of Fine Arts in Iași. He specialized in church painting, decorating, among others, churches in Poeni and Scorțeni.

In 1916, he exhibited 94 paintings and drawings in Bucharest. The artist is associated with artistic movements such as Post-Impressionism and Expressionism.

Nicolae Tonitza participated in World War I, being awarded the Order of “Mihai Viteazul”, 3rd class, for his bravery in battle. After the war, he settled in Bucharest, where, despite his artistic reputation, he faced financial and personal difficulties, with health problems acquired during the war haunting him until the end of his life.

He exhibited in Spain, in Barcelona (1929), in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam (1930), and in Belgium, in Brussels (1935). He died on February 26, 1940, in Bucharest, at the age of 53, and was buried in Ghencea Cemetery.