The moniker Little Paris used to describe
\nBucharest is embraced by some, and contested by others. The latter believe that
\nthe many contrasts of the city, with dilapidated hovels next to mansions, are
\nnot only far from resembling Paris, but are part of the charm and specificity
\nof Bucharest. What is true, however, is that starting around the half of the 19th
\ncentury, renowned architects started designing buildings that resembled those
\nin Paris. <\/p>\n
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One of them is Ion Berindey, born in 1871 into
\na family of architects. His father, Dimitrie Berindey, was the first Romanian
\narchitect to graduate fine arts in Paris, where he studied between 1853 and
\n1859. Accordingly, his son became an architect of the modernist style. He
\nenrolled at the Bridge and Road School in Bucharest, but soon left for Paris.
\nHe studied there between 1891 and 1897, at the same school as his father, and
\nstarted working at several projects at the same time, in the style he learned
\nin Paris. Here is architect Sidonia Teodorescu telling us about it, as the
\nauthor of a monograph dedicated to Berindey: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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Early in the 20th century he
\nreceived several commissions, so he started working at several buildings in
\nparallel, and some of them are now famous, such as Cantacuzino Palace, which currently
\nhouses the Very Small Theatre in Bucharest, which previously had been the
\nJournalists’ Union, then Palace of Culture in Iasi, the former hippodrome in
\nBucharest, now demolished, as well as various private residences in other
\ncities, such as Craiova and Constanta. Berindey’s creation is eclectic, with
\nelements of the Neo-Baroque, Neo-Rococo, and Art Nouveau. What was surprising,
\nand I emphasised that in my book, was the fact that Ion Berindey has designed
\nlots of buildings in the Neo-Romanian style. Some examples are buildings that
\nwere not given much attention before, such as the St. Catherine orphanage, the
\nQueen Elizabeth asylum, as well as some pavilions part of the Romanian General
\nExhibition of 1906. He wanted to touch upon several trends in design at the
\nturn of the century.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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\n
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In addition to the original way in which he
\nblended architectural styles, Ion Berindey created a style of ornamentation
\nthat became his signature, and a signature for Bucharest as well: wrought iron
\ndecorations, metal framed glass awnings, stairs, banisters and so on. The
\nbuildings that best showcase his style are the Cantacuzino Palace on the
\nVictory Boulevard in Bucharest, now home to the George Enescu museum, and House
\nAssan, currently known as the House of Scientists, in French Neo-Classical
\nstyle. The Cantacuzino Palace has a great story, which starts with Grigore
\nCantacuzino, whom people called the Nabob, and continues with his
\ndaughter-in-law, Maruca, who went on to marry composer George Enescu. Sidonia
\nTeodorescu: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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\n
<\/p>\n
Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, known as the
\nNabob for his huge wealth, became, in 1899, chairman of the Conservative Party
\nand prime minister, and decided to build the most beautiful home Bucharest had
\never seen. The chroniclers of the times wrote:: a splendid residence in
\nLouis XIV style, with ceilings painted by famous artists, with statuettes and
\nbronze statues by sculptor Storck, sculpted wood and wrought iron decorations
\nby Bucharest masters, with central heating and 600 incandescent lamps, a true
\nmasterpiece.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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We asked Sidonia Teodorescu how she would
\ndescribe the building: <\/p>\n
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\n
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I think a single word suffices: sumptuous. Its
\nsumptuousness is also due to the fact that in making the building, Berindey was
\nhelped by famous artists of the era, such as painters Costin Petrescu and Gh.
\nMirea for the mural paintings, and sculptor Emil Wilhelm von Becker for the
\nsculptures and ornamentation. He also worked with famous workshops in France
\nfor the interior decoration. I would also add the fact that he made, together
\nwith engineer Coleanu, the urbanism plan for the city of Craiova, back in
\n1914.<\/p>\n
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\n
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His industriousness, however, unfortunately led
\nto Ion Berindey’s early demise, as he succumbed to heart disease in 1928, only
\n57 years of age. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The life and work of one of Romanias most prominent early 20th century architects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":167945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45210],"tags":[45255,45254],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-167944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rri-encyclopaedia","tag-ion-berindey","tag-romanian-architecture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n