Revolutionary Romania

An iconic image of „revolutionary Romania”, this painting is nothing short of a genuine puzzle.

The model for the impetuously courageous „young Wallachian woman” who wears a festive folk costume, carries the national flag on her right shoulder and prominently holds a dagger in her right hand is no Romanian but rather the English wife of C.A. Rosetti, one of the leaders of the 1848 revolution.

Hungarian-born Daniel Rosenthal, the painting’s author, fought alongside Romanian revolutionaries with a dedication that earned him his Wallachian naturalization. Possibly he took on the forename Constantin as a sign of his admiration for his friend C.A. Rosetti.

The painting is the epitome of a generation’s ideals: the woman, a „mother who would amend corruption” as the painter had put it, held country, „justice and brotherhood” dearer than the life of her own children, speaking of the painter’s own conviction and revealing his highly charged emotional approach.

„Revolutionary Romania” Author: Constantin Daniel Rosenthal Year : 1850 Technique: Oil on canvas ©The National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest