The Evocation of the War of Independence in Fine Arts and Monuments

The Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic area, in which the territory of today's Romania is also found, has been, since Antiquity, a centre of interference and clash of the interests of the great powers, an object of the tendencies of their annexation, because it was located in a key position, at the crossroads of the strategic roads that connect the Balkan Peninsula, not only with areas of Europe, but also of Asia. Together with the entire population of Romania, the representatives of the spiritual life engaged in a common front to support the war of 1877-1878. The direct participants in the war, the artists, some reknown, others less known, drew inspiration from this new experience, creating and leaving to posterity a valuable documentary and artistic work, reminiscent of the deeds of the soldiers and contributing to the completion of the artistic forms of the end of the century. In an eloquent manner, the fine arts have fully contributed to the memorization of the “war of liberation”, the inspiration of the moment managing to bring professional satisfactions for the artists and admiration of the whole country, whereas, to the contemporaries and descendants, they offered the artistic image of the dream fulfilled.