Eugen Taru facts for kids

Eugen Taru (1913 – 1991) was a talented Romanian artist. He was especially known for his drawings, which included political cartoons, funny caricatures, comic strips, and pictures for books. He worked during the time when Romania was a communist country.

Taru first became known for some of his political drawings. But later, he focused a lot on creating art for children. He became one of the most important artists working for the Editura Ion Creangă publishing house, which made books for young people. Eugen Taru and his wife, Josefina, were also art collectors. They gave many of their artworks to the Museum of Art Collections for everyone to see. You can also find his own art in several museums in Romania.

Who Was Eugen Taru?

Eugen Taru went to Carol I High School in Craiova. He started to become famous as an artist after World War II. At that time, he joined artists who supported the communist government. An art expert named Pavel Şuşară said that Taru was one of the young artists who became well-known by working with the government. These artists helped promote the government's ideas through their art.

Cartoons and Propaganda

During the Cold War (a time of tension between big world powers), Taru became known for his stereotypical political cartoons. These drawings often made fun of things like Wall Street businesses or wealthy farmers called chiaburi. The chiaburi were like kulaks in other countries. These cartoons were quite controversial. They appeared when the government was forcing farmers to give up their land and join large state-run farms. This was a very difficult time for many rural families.

One of Taru's watercolor paintings, called Demascarea chiaburului ("Unmasking the Chiabur"), shows a worker, a farmer who joined the state farm, and a police officer. They are publicly shaming a rich farmer for not giving enough of his crops to the government. The government often set these crop demands very high, making it hard for farmers.

After a disagreement between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia (called the Tito–Stalin split), Taru also drew large posters. These posters showed Tito as a butcher holding a bloody axe. This was part of the government's effort to spread negative ideas about Tito.

Creating Comics

In the 1950s, Taru also created a regular comic strip about a dwarf character named Barbăcot. This was a time when Romanian comics were not very popular. The government preferred to invest in animation because they thought it was better for spreading their messages. Even so, Taru's Barbăcot became one of the most well-known comic strips during the communist era.

Taru continued to work at Urzica, a satirical magazine, even after 1965. This was when Nicolae Ceauşescu became the new leader. Another artist, Mihai Pînzaru-Pim, said that Taru and others quietly disagreed with Ceauşescu's policies. Pînzaru-Pim believed that Urzica was one of the few publications that could sometimes get around government censorship. They would use subtle hints, called şopârle (meaning "lizards"), to criticize the government in a way that seemed innocent. Taru and Pînzaru-Pim were also the first Romanian cartoonists to win international awards.

Illustrating Books for Kids

One of Eugen Taru's most important contributions was illustrating books. The National Museum of Art says that Taru helped make book illustration a respected art form. He made illustrations more than just simple pictures. They added deeper meaning to the stories.

Artist Arina Stoenescu remembers Taru as one of the most memorable artists who worked for Editura Ion Creangă, the state-run children's book publisher. He created 14 drawings for a 1959 edition of Childhood Memories by the famous Romanian writer Ion Creangă. He also illustrated a 1986 translation of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote.

His Art Collection

Eugen Taru and his wife Josefina collected many artworks. They later gave this large collection, along with some of Taru's own pieces, to the Museum of Art Collections. This collection includes works by famous Romanian masters like Ion Andreescu and Ştefan Luchian. It also has old Romanian and Russian icons.

Their collection also featured Oriental art, such as Chinese and Japanese porcelain. There were also European decorative items, like 18th-century French furniture.

Where to See His Art

Eugen Taru's drawings for Childhood Memories are kept at the Creangă Memorial House in Târgu Neamţ. They are a key part of the museum's permanent display. His watercolor painting Demascarea chiaburului can be seen at the Bánffy Palace Art Museum in Cluj-Napoca.

Exhibitions

Eugen Taru's work has been shown in many exhibitions:

• 2015 From Political Propaganda to Baby Boom - PostModernism Museum, Bucharest
• 1983 (Bucharest – a show looking back at his whole career)
• 1966 (Baia-Mare, Tg. Mureş)
• 1965 (Brăila, Galaţi)
• 1963 (Bucharest, Eforie Nord, Leningrad, Kiev)

From 1949, he took part in yearly state exhibitions. Since 1968, he also participated in Humorous Salons. He was part of all important international illustrated book shows (like Moscow, Leipzig, Bratislava, Bologna) and cartoon shows (such as Bordighera, Tolentino, Gabrovo, Akşehir, Skopje, Moscow, Marostice, Knokke-Heist, Marostica, Montreal, Atena).