The evocations of Magdalena Radulescu

Magdalena Radulescu (1902 - 1983) studied art in Munich and Paris. At the age of 24, she married the renowned Italian artist, Massimo Campigli (1895-1971).  The two artists worked and travelled throughout Europe, primarily residing in Italy, Romania and France.  The couple later divorced in 1939. Magdalena's success was chiefly outside her native country where she spent most of her life exhibiting in Paris, Nice, Lyon, Milan, Rome, London and Lausanne.

Her favourite subjects were principally carnaval characters, scenes with Roumanian folk dances, weddings, traditional scenes - all portrayed with exuberance, energy and vitality.

I first met the paintings of Magdalena Radulescu one afternoon with my dear friend Sonia who, Bucharest-born, was exiled with her husband in 1938 after he was beaten up at university because he was Jewish. Warning lights flashed - he and Sonica left for Paris where they remained until the end of their lives, never again setting foot in Roumania.

Her father was a great lover and advocat of the arts and taught his two daughters to value it highly. Sonica certainly did, for she and her husband adored galleries, exhibitions and had a most impressive private collection of sculptures and paintings amongst which were Agostini and Radulescu.

She had a great many of Radulescu's works because, she said, when they first met the artist in the late sixties, she was destitute. Sonia's husband thus promptly bought a couple of works out of compassion. Little by little, they added to their collection over the next few years until Magdalena died in Paris in the early 80's. Sonica told me she had died of poverty and hunger and was very saddened by her passing, for she was always sure they hadn't bought enough or done enough for her - perhaps if they had, she would have lived longer and better. I have no way of backing that up having searched exhaustively on internet, but Sonica was a darling and wouldn't have made that up, I'm sure. She was the kind of person who would give notes to beggars on the street if they had a child in their arms. The Mother Teresa of Paris VIIIè!

The works of Magdalena Radulescu would remain in my mind always. When in Bucharest, I searched for her - only a couple in the Romanian Art Museum, but they were drab, dull portraits. Nowhere did I see the vibrance present in the masterpieces on Sonica's walls. I searched for books and albums. Nope. Very few people had heard of her. 'Try the House of the People,' I was advised, 'there's a gallery there of contemporary art'. This was an issue for me, since that monstrosity symbolises so much horror that I have never (and will never) put a foot in it - not even in search of Magdalena. I don't care if it gave people work and is the biggest building in the world besides the Pentagon. It symbolises a terror regime, an unprecedented megalomania and the destruction of not only a massive part of historic Bucharest, but the death of many during the construction for a myriad of reasons. So, bref, no Casa Nebunului for me, thank you.

We would talk about Magdalena's paintings often, for they were so joyful one couldn't sit and enjoy one's coffee without involving them in conversation. What was the reason for the celebration? What music were they dancing to? A baptism? A marriage? A bar mitzvah? Where were they? Who were they?

The beautiful boat painting was on Sonica's bedroom wall directly opposite her bed so she could see it from her pillow. When she was very ill and nearing the end of her life, I would go read to her and from time to time she would stop me and ask, "where is that boat going? Or is it coming home?"

I came across that painting or one very much like it so dear to my heart on internet. Apparently, it's in the Art Museum at Constanta. Ah, what would I give to have it, simply because it is a little piece of Sonica's curiousity and sense of vitality. When Sonica died in 2006, Magdalena Radulescu also vanished from my life. The two left quite a gap. Her nephew was the sole inheritor and I believe sold everything because now they are there on-line for all the world to see.

Magdalena Radulescu's art was very much cherished by Sonica and her husband. Each work was admired as it adorned the beautiful walls of her appartment near Parc Monceau here in Paris. But apart from Sonica's private collection which was something of a museum for her multitude of friends, Magdalena Radulesca remains largely unknown. Her paintings rely more on suggestion than on description but are so traditional. They breathe Roumanian spirit from their canvases into the rooms and hearts beyond. She should be as known as Pallady and Luchian. Ah, well, to me, she is, and evokes far more than boats and carnavals. She evokes Sonica, too.

Comments

[Luc]

Wonderfull artist, magdalena Radulescu was one of the great.

I bought recently one painting and hope to have some more.

[Marcela]

How lovely to discover this artist through your FB page and now here on your blog, Sarah.



Thank you so much! What a dear and sensitive post.

[sairj]

Probably as she was commissioned for portrait painting so she was doing it for the money as an incentive rather than her heart's outpouring. the fact that her paintings are cheap can only go in our favour!!! I'm almost relieved to hear it!! Maybe I'll be a proud owner of a Magdalena painting one of these days - but I do hope it's the 'Barca'!!

[doina]

Lovely story. Her paintings are great but she is not very well apreacited at the auctions. I saw a portrait sold in Bucharest for 1200 lei. But her portraits are,t ,indeed so beautiful as the boats or the Circus.Not very good with portraits

[sairj]

My dear, I don't know what the paintings are reaching on the market but not much I guess...I saw a dancer miniature online here like the one you can see above (this was a miniature at Sonica's too and sat on the wall above her telephone table)going for 4400 lei... huh!Nothing at all! But truly, if I could find one, I'd buy it!! Especially the ship... I think Sonica must have had the largest collection of Radulescu paintings. Well, she had more than the Roumanian Art gallery! Maybe now they have been sold off and bought, we will find others love them too. I sincerely hope so for Sonica would be so upset if they were unloved. Her mouldy, tight fisted nephew wouldn't have cared about them for they weren't valuable enough to get his attention. I'm sure the Agostini was far more up his street.