Romanian Folk Costume in Paintings: Take the Second Half of the 19th Century and the Early 20th Century

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 19th century, especially after Romania participated in the Revolution of 1848, Romanian cultural elites have striven to find a representative and easily recognizable image of Romania as an independent European country. In this context, the rural world was rediscovered, and traditional folk costume which represents the product of the continuity, development and transformation of Romanian society, was reinterpreted and considered as the strongest visual support of national values. Meanwhile, after the Revolution of 1848, the connection between Western Europe and Romania has been increasingly closer, especially in terms of the art and cultural fields. Since Western Europe had already developed mature art schools by that time, it exerted the dominant influence on Romania and encouraged a small part of Romanian painters to focus on some themes that were not conventional in their country, such as the idyllic rural life and the exquisite folk costume worn in the village. Thus, the evolution of art in Romania had been affected by Western European until such influence was absorbed and organically integrated into the Romanian indigenous culture.