Constantin Lucaci facts for kids
Constantin Lucaci (born July 7, 1923 – died July 20, 2014) was a famous Romanian artist. He was a sculptor known for his big, impressive sculptures. He also created special moving fountains, called kinetic fountains. These fountains were often made from shiny stainless steel. His most famous fountains are in the Romanian cities of Reșița and Constanța.
Lucaci was born in Bocșa Română, which is now part of Bocșa, Caraș-Severin County. From 1993 until he passed away, he taught at The Sculpture Department of The Academy of Belle Arts in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. You can find his artworks, both large and small, in many museums in Romania and in other countries too.
Outside of Romania, one of Lucaci's moving sculptures, called Star, is on display in Venice, Italy. It's part of a special exhibition called "Fucina degli Angeli". His work is shown there alongside pieces by other famous artists like Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso, and Mark Tobey. You can also find his sculptures in private collections in cities like Antwerp, Copenhagen, Ferrara, Milan, Rome, and Venice.
Constantin Lucaci received many awards from Romania and other countries. He won the Romanian Academy prize for his whole career in 1990. In 1984, he received the Herder Prize for all his amazing work. He also won a Gold Medal at the International Biennale of Art dedicated to Dante - Ravenna in 1999 for his large sculptures. Lucaci died when he was 91 years old.
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The Life of Constantin Lucaci
Early Life and Education
Constantin Lucaci was born in 1923 in Bocșa Română, a region in Romania called Banat. As a child and teenager, he loved three main things: learning about the world through math and physics, music, and making models. He learned drawing and modeling from T. Botlich, an artist who studied in Paris.
In 1945, Lucaci started taking classes at the "Guguianu" Free Academy of Arts in Bucharest. He learned from well-known artists like Camil Ressu and C. Medrea. After finishing there in 1948, he joined the "Nicolae Grigorescu" Fine Arts Institute. That same year, he showed his sculpture "The Builders" at an art show in Bucharest. From then on, he took part in art exhibitions every year or two.
In 1950, while still a student, he showed "The Swimmer" at an art show. This sculpture caught the eye of a famous art critic, G. Oprescu. Lucaci graduated from the "Nicolae Grigorescu" Fine Arts Institute in 1953. In April of that year, he got married to Irina Tomescu. He also showed his art at a Romanian exhibition in Helsinki, Finland.
Artistic Journey and International Recognition
In 1954, Lucaci's sculptures were shown at the Biannual di Venezia, a big art event in Venice. He also took part in art exhibitions in Moscow in 1958 and Budapest in 1959. In Budapest, he showed his works made from stainless steel.
He continued to show his art in other countries, including Damascus, Cairo, and Alexandria in 1961. He also participated in an exhibition of sculptors' drawings in Moscow. In 1963, he studied at the Fine Arts Academy "Pietro Vanuci" in Peruggia, Italy.
In 1966, Lucaci received a scholarship to study in France. There, he explored French and European sculptures. He was especially interested in ancient Egyptian sculptures made of granite and basalt. Around this time, he started creating a series of large sculptures made of stainless steel. He later called this collection "Space and Light."
Famous Works and Exhibitions
In 1967, some of Lucaci's large stainless steel sculptures were shown at an outdoor exhibition in Middelheim Park in Antwerp, Belgium. He made study trips to France, Belgium, and Italy in 1968. In 1972, he had a sculpture exhibition at the "French Library" in Bucharest.
In 1975, Lucaci's art was part of a Romanian contemporary art exhibition that traveled to Belgrade, Damascus, Cairo, and Alexandria. He also showed his work in Berlin. That same year, he was invited to "Fucina degli Angeli" in Venice. There, he created "Star," a moving sculpture made of stainless steel and glass. This artwork is now a permanent part of the "Fucina degli Angeli" display, alongside pieces by famous artists like Mark Tobey, Picasso, Max Ernst, and Chagall. He also took another study trip to France.
Lucaci continued to travel and participate in international events. In 1976, he attended an art congress in Baghdad. In September 1977, he was invited to Havana, Cuba, to help start the Artists' Union. An album about "Fucina degli Angeli" was published in Venice, featuring a special section on Constantin Lucaci's work. He also participated in an exhibition of Romanian Fine Arts in Moscow.
In 1979, he showed his small sculptures in Damascus and attended an art congress in Stockholm. In 1980, the French government invited him to the opening of the "Brâncuși" Museum in Paris. He also took part in a conference about improving the environment in Manila, Philippines.
In 1984, he had a solo exhibition at The Italian Cultural Institute in Bucharest. From 1988 onwards, he was a judge for the international art competition dedicated to Dante in Ravenna. In 1993, he became a professor at the Fine Arts Academy in Cluj, teaching sculpture.
Awards and Recognitions
Constantin Lucaci received many important awards throughout his career:
- 1953 - "Medal of Toil" from Romania
- 1968 - "Cultural Merit" Order from Romania
- 1974 - The Romanian Union of Plastic Artists' Prize for Monumental Art
- 1982 - "Knight of the Italian Republic" Order of Merit
- 1984 - Prize from the Romanian magazine "Flacăra" for his series of kinetic fountains
- 1984 - "Herder" Prize from the University of Vienna for his entire work
- 1990 - Prize of the Romanian Academy for his entire work
- 1999 - Gold Medal at the International Biennale of Art dedicated to Dante - Ravenna
- 2000 - "Freeman" of the city of Reșița
- 2001 - Prize of "The Romanian Cultural Foundation"
Major Works and Collections
You can find Constantin Lucaci's sculptures in many museums across Romania. His art is also part of art collections in other countries, including Antwerp, Copenhagen, Venice, Rome, Milan, and Ferrara.
