Nicolae Maniu is an excellent draughtsman who knows in detail the technique of the old Renaissance masters, the trompe-l’œil and all the effects of modelling which give the impression of volume on a bidimensional surface. His drawings display admirable force, boldness, talent. To these qualities he adds the glow and clarity of colours like ochre, grey and blue, sometimes- having the transparency of watercolorus. His need for perfection is matched by a humanistic vision stemming from a vast culture, which harmoniously combine the real and the imaginary. Is it surrealism or fantastic realism with profound meditative vibrations ?

Let us consider the « Tribute to Dürer » one of his masterpieces which – by evoking the past, the link to the Renaissance – becomes reality in an image open to the future. « The Death Knight » the famous Dürer’s engraving is flanked by Dürer’s portrait, on one side, while on the other side it is the artist’s portrait, whose hands is depicted above the clouds. A rainbow divides the upper area from the lower one where « Melancholy » is surrounded by numerous symbolic animals, fish and geometrical shapes. The composition follows the classical rules of balance and simmetry, yet the ensemble has the surrealist feeling of a dream come true.