{"id":2628,"date":"2021-08-10T08:10:20","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T05:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nicolaemaniu.com.ro\/?page_id=2628"},"modified":"2021-08-10T09:22:04","modified_gmt":"2021-08-10T06:22:04","slug":"bibliography-niculae-maniu","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nicolaemaniu.com.ro\/en\/bibliography-niculae-maniu\/","title":{"rendered":"Bibliography"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-ks4for2s-b4a760326de7618ee20d55758bdbfd16\">\n.avia-section.av-ks4for2s-b4a760326de7618ee20d55758bdbfd16{\nbackground-color:#141414;\nbackground-image:url(https:\/\/nicolaemaniu.com.ro\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/biographie2.jpg);\nbackground-repeat:no-repeat;\nbackground-position:0% 50%;\nbackground-attachment:fixed;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div id='av_section_1'  class='avia-section av-ks4for2s-b4a760326de7618ee20d55758bdbfd16 main_color avia-section-no-padding avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-0  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-bg-style-fixed container_wrap fullsize'  data-section-bg-repeat='no-repeat'><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><main  role=\"main\" itemprop=\"mainContentOfPage\"  class='template-page content  av-content-full alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-2628'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div  class='flex_column av-bhz64o-451d05a3bb521647f2a14aaa44f500bf av_one_half  avia-builder-el-1  el_before_av_one_half  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div  '     ><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-8roxl4-e97b1459882f36c6583a6be2fd5c3497\">\n.flex_column.av-8roxl4-e97b1459882f36c6583a6be2fd5c3497{\npadding:30px 30px 30px 30px;\nbackground-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.64);\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-8roxl4-e97b1459882f36c6583a6be2fd5c3497 av_one_half  avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_one_half  avia-builder-el-last  flex_column_div av-animated-generic right-to-left  '     ><p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-ks4fqisk-31c88ab3ced30aeb486baecf2094b4af\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-ks4fqisk-31c88ab3ced30aeb486baecf2094b4af{\npadding-bottom:10px;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-ks4fqisk-31c88ab3ced30aeb486baecf2094b4af .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-ks4fqisk-31c88ab3ced30aeb486baecf2094b4af .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-ks4fqisk-31c88ab3ced30aeb486baecf2094b4af av-special-heading-h1 blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-3  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first '><h1 class='av-special-heading-tag'  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Bibliography<\/h1><div class='av-subheading av-subheading_below'><p>Nicolae MANIU<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-5m7x61-f6cf8ac2566412b88547268e53480d66 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><div class=\"middle_content\">\n<div class=\"entry\">\n<div class=\"middle_content\">\n<div class=\"entry\">\n<div class=\"middle_content\">\n<div class=\"entry\">\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">T<\/span>he correspondence between the real and the fantastic is to be found in the paintings created in Romania, too : landscapes that recall the seasons and people\u2019s work, with a deep love for his country (\u00ab The Fruit of the Earth \u00bb, \u00ab Endless Image \u00bb etc). The contact with the Western world made the topics of his paitings more complex and the expressive force exploring the mystery of life and death more intense. \u00ab The Movement of the Matter \u00bb, \u00ab Between Sky and Earth \u00bb, \u00ab The Last Supper \u00bb, \u00ab The Abduction of Proserpina \u00bb are works that induce reflection. In such works the artist\u2019s serenity and quiet force are boldly exhibited, yet refusing violence. Nicolae Maniu poses questions about the meaning of our existence, he invites us to reflect, but his sobre and impressive paintings do not display an existential anxiety. His generous and intense pictorial vision, the almost magic accuracy of his technique, the purity and light of his colours make Nicolae Maniu one of the most original personalities of the contemporary art.<br \/>\nNicolae Maniu is an excellent draughtsman who knows in detail the technique of the old Renaissance masters, the trompe-l\u2019\u0153il 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 \u00ab Tribute to D\u00fcrer \u00bb one of his masterpieces which \u2013 by evoking the past, the link to the Renaissance \u2013 becomes reality in an image open to the future. \u00ab The Death Knight \u00bb the famous D\u00fcrer\u2019s engraving is flanked by D\u00fcrer\u2019s portrait, on one side, while on the other side it is the artist\u2019s portrait, whose hands is depicted above the clouds. A rainbow divides the upper area from the lower one where \u00ab Melancholy \u00bb 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.<\/p>\n<p><em>Ionel Jianu in \u201eLes artistes roumains en occident\u201d (The Romanian Artists<br \/>\nin the West) \u2013 ed. American Roumanian Academy<br \/>\nof Arts and Sciences \u2013 1986<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">T<\/span>o introduce Nicolae Maniu, we must mention first the magic of History which makes of this Carpathian \u2014 born man a Latin with such a clearly mediterranean sensitivity that he defines himself as being both Italian \u2014 or more precisely Dacian and Roman \u2014 and above ail French, in a more and more irremediable manner, as he likes saving.<br \/>\nThe professional progress of this artist born on April llth 1944 in Turda, Romania, is entirely dedicated to artistic creation. First a sculptor until 1971, he gave up this art he masters so well for painting which, has been his \u201crai\u00acson d\u2019\u00eatre\u201d ever since. In 1983, he left his native country and settled in Cologne, West Germany.<br \/>\nNicolae MANIU allies an exceptional talent with a humanistic vision of the world. His vast culture, combined with his draughtsman\u2019s mastery which has perfectly assimilated the know-how of the Renaissance Great Masters as well as the \u201ctrompe l\u2019\u0153il\u2019\u2019 technique, expresses itself in a smooth oil painting with colours of transparent luminosity, and characters one would think to be alive.<br \/>\nThe result is quite simply amazing, and the watercolour-like limpidity of his favourite colours which are grey, ochre and blue, gives his painting the changing facets of life, and invites meditation. Nicolae Maniu is indeed a magician of painting, ceaselessly creating in his pictures the successful symbiosis of the reality we are living and the fantasy towards which we ail aspire.<br \/>\nThe welcome which, since his first Personal exhibition in 1978, the public and critics have given him could only go on growing. Today. Nicolae Maniu exhibits throughout the world and many International Museums vie with private collections for the masterpieces of this artist who is quietly revealing himself as one of the greatest of his time.<\/p>\n<p><em>Philippe Clerc and Michel Palisse in \u201eCognac International Magazine\u201d<br \/>\nnr.3, pg.66-67 \u2013 1990<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">W<\/span>e can\u2019t talk about Nicolae Maniu without knowing his itinerary, from a Carpathian born to a Latin artist with a Mediterranean sensitiveness, who considers himself to be a Romanian which is becoming more and more French.<br \/>\nInitially an artist mastering the sculpture techniques, he switched to painting \u2013 a decision nobody regrets. Like many others, he left his homeland and \u2013 in 1983 \u2013 he moved to K\u00f6ln, Germany.<br \/>\nNicolae Maniu is a magician of painting. His works ceaselessly render a successful symbiosis between the real and the fantastic we all dream of.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201eHyperr\u00e9alisme et trompe-l\u2019oeil\u201d in \u201eArts actualit\u00e9s magazine\u201d<br \/>\nnr.18\/1991, pg:24-25<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">A<\/span> painter who masters all techniques is able to convey his message in the minutest details. Despite his space movement, his message is clearly and concisely formulated within the structure of his compositions. The silky glow of his colours, the shining play of reflexes, shadows and contrasts of light as well as the body representations turn his works into an emotional mise en scene which give the impression of a life that can leave the canvas.<\/p>\n<p><em>R\u00fcdiger M\u00fcller in \u201eLe trompe-l\u2019oeil contemporain\u201d \u2013 ed.Menges, 1993<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">N<\/span>icolae Maniu belongs to a small group of painters that employ the trompe-l\u2019\u0153il, which requires outstanding technical qualities. This oil on canvas technique, mingled with a a realistic style, his precise way of working, his own organization of colours which capture and reflect light, as well as his sense of composition that targets the essence give clarity, harmony and a calm balance to Maniu\u2019s works, despite their often dramatic message.<\/p>\n<p><em>Martin Monestier in \u201eLe trompe-l\u2019oeil contemporain\u201d \u2013 ed.Menges, 1993<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">N<\/span>icolae Maniu evolves at least on two directions of a perfect realism that intermingle thus resulting a complex subject. This fusion leads to a multiplication of the reality meanings. It is more than realism, it is \u201cmetarealism\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><em>Ovidiu Avram in \u201eLe trompe-l\u2019oeil contemporain\u201d \u2013 ed.Menges, 1993<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">T<\/span>HE SECRET :LIFE OF PAINTINGS<br \/>\nThis fascinating Maniu\u2019s composition, dominated by his self-portrait, displays the enigmatic expression that Santi di Tito gave to Machiavelli\u2019s face in the 15th century. \u00ab The pleasure of contemplating the face of one\u2019s ancestors is of outmost importance as it stirrs one\u2019s love for glory \u00bb Vasari wrote. Judging by the touch of the Italian Renaissance in this surprising mise en scene, Maniu, too, works for his glory. However, the aluminium reminds us that he is a 20th century artist. A man who masters the trompe-l\u2019\u0153il whithout ignoring the classical tradition at all.<\/p>\n<p><em>Jean Monneret in \u201eThe triumpf of tromp-l\u2019\u0153il\u201d,\u201eHistoire du trompe-l\u2019\u0153il<br \/>\ndans la peinture occidentale du VI-e si\u00e8cle avant J.C. \u00e0 nos jours\u201d<br \/>\n(The History of tromp-l\u2019\u0153il in the Western Painting) \u2013<br \/>\ned. Menges, 1993<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">H<\/span>aving an obvious figurative character, playing around with Caravaggio\u2019s painting and the precise technique of the \u201eLittle Dutch Masters\u201d, the adventure of light turns into a new artistic energy in Maniu\u2019s painting. Maniu surrenders himself to a technical anonimity which stems from the entire history of painting, from the classical masters to the famous artists like Sandorfi, Poirier, Di Macio, Ugarte, Claudio Bravo, who \u2013 just like himself \u2013 are to be found in the galeries of Champs Elys\u00e9es and Rue Matignon.<br \/>\nThe symbol \u2013 a vehicle and and a go-between leading to and coming from the image \u2013 grows in Maniu\u2019s painting carefully protected by the multiple layers and \u2018natural\u2019 abundance that build the panting by means of a subtle dispute with the techniques and a polymorphic approach to art and civilization. Maniu\u2019s painting is secular, yet there is a religious approach in telling the story, in the accuracy and the strict rules of the compositions. It is the luxury of a secular Constantinople that bears the refusal of the total spirit of Revelation. It is a materialism that remains terrestrial though sofianic, just like Kant\u2019s metaphysics. Maniu\u2019s characters emanate a particular loneliness, a psychology marked by the appearance; the follies hide or reveal the untold secret of this world, which is trying to preserve itself just like the Egyptian pharaos in their golden mummies. In this universe women are present only as a pretext which \u2013 among follies \u2013 leads to the issue of a \u00ab Narcissus \u00bb doomed to boredom.<br \/>\nWe can talk about a psychology of the depth which \u2018cracks\u2019 the surface of the contemporary imaginary that Maniu fights by means of an earthly \u2018Sophia\u2019. Maniu\u2019s attempt to turn the light into clothing oscillates between transparency and reflection, between East and West\u2026<\/p>\n<p><em>Ovidiu Avram in \u201eEnciclopedia arti\u0219tilor rom\u00e2ni contemporani\u201d, (Encyclopedia of Contemporray Romanian Artists)<br \/>\ned. Arc2000, pg.108 \u2013 1996<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">I<\/span>n a critical period for the subject and representation that fortuitously led art to abstraction, Nicolae Maniu is deeply involved in serious existential aspects. Most frequently he operates witht snap-shots from a tangible and shoking reality, which has an aura of mysterious feeling. Apparently clear and direct, when trying to decipher it, the image escapes to spaces full of dreams and revery, in a fierce search for understanding, tenderness, love, certitude. Nicolae Maniu\u2019s force lies in his obvious and vital approach to creation.<\/p>\n<p><em>Negoita Laptoiu, in \u201cEncyclopedia of Contemporray Romanian Artists\u201c,<br \/>\ned. Arc2000, p.108-1996<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">R<\/span>etrospectively, his artistic evolution spans the history of painting from the classics to the 20th century art, thus placing Maniu next to important names in Europe\u2019s Cultural capital. Just like Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i \u2013 who, in early 20th century became part of the \u201cWestern adventure\u201d, yet remained himself \u2013 Maniu had the intelligence to apparently adjust, going \u2018against the flow\u2019 \u2013 as he entitled some of his works from the 1990s, which reveal a character determined to challenge the fashionable trends. It is the obssesion to preserve his authenticity that has brought him success. To put it into other words, due to his extraordinary devotion he has managed to hold an important place in the history of contemporray art. Undoubtedly, that is also due to his attachment to Renaissance accuracy, which offered him the perspective of orginal composition exercises. His works ponder on the supremacy of the visual and illusion, without abandoning the rules of the composition.<br \/>\nThe frames of Maniu\u2019s canvasses enclose a world in search for its own balance, a world which is hidden in metaphors, permanently unveiling itself, thus giving the viewer the chance to decipher its misteries : it is the real world that he wants to preserve at any cost, behind his silver layer, a constant symbol of his works.<br \/>\nJust like his great masters \u2013 Van Eyck, D\u00fcrer, Rubens, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Dali \u2013 Maniu has the outstanding talent to render forms thus opposing the comprehensive figurative to the abstraction and absurd that culminated in non-art.<br \/>\nPlaying around with Georges de la Tour and Caravaggio, who direct the light\/shadow in the same way and who have a similar temperament \u2013 Maniu competes with the true value. And he has won. Ever since the beginning of his career, his paintings have been selected by the Parisian art galleries. The numerous topics inspired by the Greek mythology, the attempt to find relationships between the classical painting and the moderns artistic expression have placed him among the most important artists of the European contemporary painting.<\/p>\n<p><em>Veronica Marinescu in \u201eAventura luminii care a cucerit Occidentul\u201d-<br \/>\n(The Adventure that has conquered the West)<br \/>\nCurierul National of 28.06.2003<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">I<\/span>nitially \u2013 during his formative years in Romania \u2013 Nicolae Maniu was a sculptor. We can still observe his love of volume in the extraordinary quality of his touch and style, and also in the various themes he has explored over the last 30 years. This is why one should always pay close attention not only to the figures he portrays, but also how they interact and contrast with their background.<br \/>\nWhat Maniu paints on his canvases is essentially a stage \u2013 a theater the drama being performed is frozen for eternity. We can indeed s| dramatic terms, given that the way he directs his scenic in ceaselessly evokes the original backcloth against which ail human attempt to live.<br \/>\nThis extraordinary ability to depict our original stage is un question the root of the success an artist who now, across the globe, re exhibits pictures just as perfect as those painted by the Flemish primitives in the 15th century (Van Eyck, Van der Weyden).<\/p>\n<p><em>Damien Sausset in \u201eParis \u2013 capital of the art world\u201d,<br \/>\n\u201eUpdate Art Magazine\u201d, pg.77-83, \u2013 2003<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">A<\/span>t a quick glance, if your memory is still burdened by some lingering ideological remnants, you might be tempted to say he is a realist, a part of our everyday life, even a little bit of a humanist, just like any major artist ; once you have watched his faces a bit longer, the reality vanishes and slips through your fingers due to some inner excesses. Then, of course, you might think of surrealism, of the destruction of the whole by the hypertrophic detail ; however, soon the syntax of the image escapes the hyperrealist immobility, the self-sufficiency of the image, and flows unnoticeably \u2013 at least for a less playful viewer \u2013 into the voluble abyss of the surrealism. But Maniu is restless and unpredictable, so he doesn\u2019t stay here enough to let the virtual viewer go home enjoying peace of mind ; he moves briskly to other chapters in the history of painting where one can find the classical Poussin, the Romantic Delacroix, the mannerist Veronese or Pontormo, the Baroque Rubens and the infernal Bosch or all the fantastic story tellers, with their inexhaustible language, dark soul and a mind clearly set in the uncertain delta in which the dream turns into nightmare.<\/p>\n<p><em>Tudor Octavian in \u201eThe Science of Looking\u201d, exhibition catalogue,<br \/>\nEA Gallery, 2010.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">B<\/span>efore the Miracle.<br \/>\nWith the ease of an experienced stage director, Maniu brings together characters, objects and perspectives in order to give shape to a live, plastic idea. You often seem to be in front of a snapshot, of a sequence that is part of a wider scene, hidden from view in the painting\u2019s secret body \u2013 a place from where emerge and become visible only those details which serve the purpose of the moment. You become increasingly aware of having come into contact with a fundamental line of thought regarding the purpose of the image and its ability to make its voice heard loud and clear in contemporary culture. At the same time, you enjoy the subdued tone of this way of thinking, which allows you first the privilege of contemplating, again and again, like never before: your eye is competing with the line and the surface, it joins in the game, foresees the chance of experiencing extasy and allows itself to be guided through a practical course in plastic philosophy. You leave the day-to-day physical space and penetrate a multifaceted, live space of memories, visions and the magic of the contemplation moment. You come across an image that resembles a supersaturated vortex, which generates its own energy by approaching the history of painting as a homogeneous, generative field. The historic perspective is dissolved and transformed into personal vision, with its own moral identity and philosophical mark. In time, such a plastic gesture becomes massive, as it is based on its interdependence to a unique vision.<br \/>\nEven though referring to the elements of plastic expression would go beyond the natural scope of this text, we should mention the metal foil, which has the effect of intensifying both the light and the opacity. The foil covers, but it also unveils, in a contrastive manner, it emblematically represents the derisory character of consumption, while dramatically highlighting certain aspects of the composition. Its plastic quality is an effigy of the thirst for the visual: for centuries in a row, the proof of pictorial virtuosity was represented by the ability to reproduce the complex folds and plaits of fine fabrics. However, modern times call for new reflections, even in a figurative sense.<br \/>\nNicolae Maniu\u2019s images are moving towards the classical horizon and they are raising the interest of art lovers coming from the most diverse cultures. The painter is often confronted with situations when his work creates the effect of love at first sight and his paintings are bought with spontaneous passion by collectors who are first attracted by the fascinating image and only later discover the author and the wealth of his work. We are dealing here with a concrete, direct, universal dimension which transcends fashion trends and theoretical considerations and sustains itself through its intrinsic aesthetic value.<\/p>\n<p><em>Mihai Tropa in Exhibition catalog \u201cJubilee \u2013 Nicolae MANIU\u201c, 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2628","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicolaemaniu.com.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicolaemaniu.com.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicolaemaniu.com.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicolaemaniu.com.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicolaemaniu.com.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2628"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nicolaemaniu.com.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2658,"href":"https:\/\/nicolaemaniu.com.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2628\/revisions\/2658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicolaemaniu.com.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}