Three pillars of national art – Igor Vieru, Ilia Bogdesco, Mihail Petric – 100 years since their birth

Abstract

The article is focused on the creation of three plastic artists from the Republic of Moldova, who would have celebrated their centenary this year – Igor Vieru (1923-1988), Ilia Bogdesco (1923-2010), Mihail Petric (1923-2005). Their contribution is a significant one for national art, each one leaving a considerable mark in the field and genre they work. Several aspects and factors of the creative process of each individual artist are mentioned in the article. The thematic topics addressed are described, the components of the plastic language used in the process of creating a work of art, and the types of plastic and technical realization of the works are revealed. In their creation there is a coexistence of traditional and innovative elements in the plastic treatment of works of art. Depending on the historical period, the illustrative-realistic vision in painting (I. Vieru, M. Petric) is replaced by a decorative one, inspired by Romanian plastic folklore and the aesthetic concepts of modern European art (post-impressionism, Fauvism, etc.). In the creation of the graphic artist Ilie Bogdesco, who prefers a „classic” work technique, technical procedures and stylistic features not specific to contemporary national graphics are encountered. He practices calligraphy in book illustration and develops a new author’s technique, based on the text from the national medieval miniatures. Poets in soul and philosophers in thought, the celebrated artists remain trailblazers for the plastic arts in the Republic of Moldova, who have le¡ a unique spiritual trail in their track record.