Agapia Monastery is embellished for eternity by the saints painted by Nicolae Grigorescu between 1858 and 1861. He was hired to do this job by Tavefta Ursache, the abbot ofAgapia Monastery. She saw an icon of St Mary painted by Nicolae Grigorescu, that we can see today in themuseum of the monasteryand she was convinced by his talent.
Although he was just 20 years old when he started to paint the interior of Agapia’s church, Nicolae Grigorescu manages to create an immortal piece of art, which successfully combines the Byzantine tradition with the neo-classic style and the traditional Romanian art.
In the portraits of his saints, Nicolae Grigorescu uses as models priests, nuns, peasants, children or simple people that pass throughAgapia Monastery. The result is a realistic painting: reality is presented with great precision and artistic skill. You can see the strong features of the faces, the beautiful colors, graceful poses, basically images full of humanity and dynamics.
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