A number of objects of the same kind or category which, put together and arranged systematically, have an artistic, scientific, documentary value – this is the definition of the word collection, of Latin origin. Accordingly, the collector would be the person that initiates, invests, catalogs, conserves, and exhibits the collected items; his status is rightly special, and he is often an exceptional person. Certainly, I am referring to great collectors, who constitute the subject matter of this issue. Oddballs? All who gather any kind of things are not collectors: a genuine collector must be passionate and cultured, have style, flair, and a lot of taste; he must be tenacious, patient, perseverant and, above all, have money. In many cases, the passion for stockpiling transforms a collector into a maniac. Once a "professional," the collector enters a world of exchanges, acquisitions, evaluations, and his collection becomes an institution. When did the first real collections begin to emerge in this country? Only after 1850 do the first clear data and inventories of collections made up of imported items appear: paintings, furniture, silverware, glassware, faience, etc., related to names such as Cantacuzino, Stirbei, Cretulescu, all of them well-to-do aristocrats. Later on, the Fine Arts Friends Society arrives on the scene, together with exhibitions and authentic collections: Dr. N. Kalinderu, C. Esarcu, King Carol I, M. Kogalniceanu. At the end of the 19th century, the number of Bucharest collections increased, enriched by many national values; the painter Nicolae Grigorescu, for instance, was very much in demand. Many collections turned into "public utility collections" even during the lives of their owners. Painting and sculpture remained central, and almost everyone considered that "talent has priority." The collector Al. Bogdan-Pitesti is a nice example: his priorities are the painters Stefan Luchian and Iosif Iser. In 1920, there were more than 100 art collections in Bucharest, including other painters as well: Theodor Pallady, Nicolae Tonitza, Gheorghe Petrascu. Now become famous the collections of Zambaccian, I. N. Dona, E. Ottulescu. The artistic favorites remain Nicolae Grigorescu, Ion Andreescu, later Alexandru Ciucurencu. What are the common features of the top collectors at the time? Passion, sacrifice, pride, enthusiasm, initiative; in fact, they are the most zealous propagators of valuable works, and cultivate the friendship of many artists. Are collectors a different species? I believe they are. The ways of some have become subjects of analysis. Apart from the passion and meticulousness, one discerns an enormous wish to possess – sometimes even more, to leave something behind. Yet the collectors as a whole must be perceived as devoted to the idea of treasuring art and contributing decisively to the formation of artistic taste. Without any pretensions to inventory or evaluation, this issue presents only a few of the most refined collections assembled in the 20th century by a few eminent collectors and famous personalities – an interesting social category, most often intellectuals with a sound taste, willing to sacrifice. Wealth, ambition, self-esteem, style – everything is in there. Judging by the growing number of collectors in the last decades, I notice that this distinguished class does not face extinction at all. On the contrary. Bearing this in mind, we would like this issue of PLURAL to be an invitation.
by Aurora Fabritius
