Vasile Gorduz
Hommage à Mihai Eminescu, poète roumain
2004
Presentation of the artwork
Installed in Place de la Roumanie, the statue by the Romanian sculptor Vasile Gorduz conveys the romantic spirit that characterizes Eminescu’s life and work. A portrait of the poet taken from his funerary mask, the facial features are caught in an almost-divine expression. Eminescu is portrayed at the moment of dying: halfway between the world of the living and the beyond. A mixture of ecstasy and lyricism, the statue draws on the forms and styles of romanticism, establishing a connection with Eminescu’s writing. The hands are in motion in the manner of someone reciting a poem, whereas the bare feet speak of the humility of one of the great poets of the nineteenth century. Associated events
Mihai Eminescu was the national poet of Romania. Born on 15 January 1850 in Boto?ani, Eminescu published his first poems when he was 16. He studied philosophy at the universities of Vienna (1869–72) and Berlin (1872–74). When he returned to Romania, he became a member of Junimea, the most exclusive literary and political society of his time. Eminescu died on 15 June 1889, at age 39. Today, the poet is omnipresent in Romania: statues of him are all over the country, his face is printed on a number of Romanian currency bills, and numerous schools and institutions bear his name. The anniversary of his birth was celebrated nationally in 2000, which was proclaimed the Year of Eminescu in Romania. The ripples from this celebration reached as far as Montréal, to which the Romanian government presented the gift of Hommage à Mihai Eminescu, poète roumain. This gift also commemorates the centenary of the Romanian presence in Canada and the 35th anniversary of the inception of diplomatic relations between Canada and Romania. 
Crédit photo: Guy L'Heureux, 2012
Vasile Gorduz
Born in Trifesti, Orhei in 1931, Vasile Gorduz was a top-ranked sculptor in the Romanian art scene. From 1954 to 1961, he studied at the Bucharest Academy of Fine Art, where he worked as a professor starting in 1990. In 1963, he became a member of the Romanian Union of Visual Artists. Gorduz also founded Groupe 9+1, for Romanian intellectuals, in 1981. He received numerous awards and distinctions, and his works are in a number of collections in France, Italy, England, Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, and other countries. He died in 2008, and two years later his widow, the Romanian sculptor Silvia Radu, organized a retrospective exhibition of his body of work at the art gallery in the Mogosoaia palace, in the Bucharest region.
Awards and honours
- Prix national du ministère de la culture de la Roumanie, 1992
- Prix de l’Union des artistes plasticiens de Roumanie, 1983
Presentation of the artwork
Installed in Place de la Roumanie, the statue by the Romanian sculptor Vasile Gorduz conveys the romantic spirit that characterizes Eminescu’s life and work. A portrait of the poet taken from his funerary mask, the facial features are caught in an almost-divine expression. Eminescu is portrayed at the moment of dying: halfway between the world of the living and the beyond. A mixture of ecstasy and lyricism, the statue draws on the forms and styles of romanticism, establishing a connection with Eminescu’s writing. The hands are in motion in the manner of someone reciting a poem, whereas the bare feet speak of the humility of one of the great poets of the nineteenth century. Associated events
Mihai Eminescu was the national poet of Romania. Born on 15 January 1850 in Boto?ani, Eminescu published his first poems when he was 16. He studied philosophy at the universities of Vienna (1869–72) and Berlin (1872–74). When he returned to Romania, he became a member of Junimea, the most exclusive literary and political society of his time. Eminescu died on 15 June 1889, at age 39. Today, the poet is omnipresent in Romania: statues of him are all over the country, his face is printed on a number of Romanian currency bills, and numerous schools and institutions bear his name. The anniversary of his birth was celebrated nationally in 2000, which was proclaimed the Year of Eminescu in Romania. The ripples from this celebration reached as far as Montréal, to which the Romanian government presented the gift of Hommage à Mihai Eminescu, poète roumain. This gift also commemorates the centenary of the Romanian presence in Canada and the 35th anniversary of the inception of diplomatic relations between Canada and Romania.
Vasile Gorduz
Born in Trifesti, Orhei in 1931, Vasile Gorduz was a top-ranked sculptor in the Romanian art scene. From 1954 to 1961, he studied at the Bucharest Academy of Fine Art, where he worked as a professor starting in 1990. In 1963, he became a member of the Romanian Union of Visual Artists. Gorduz also founded Groupe 9+1, for Romanian intellectuals, in 1981. He received numerous awards and distinctions, and his works are in a number of collections in France, Italy, England, Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, and other countries. He died in 2008, and two years later his widow, the Romanian sculptor Silvia Radu, organized a retrospective exhibition of his body of work at the art gallery in the Mogosoaia palace, in the Bucharest region.
Awards and honours
- Prix national du ministère de la culture de la Roumanie, 1992
- Prix de l’Union des artistes plasticiens de Roumanie, 1983
