Nicolae Tonitza was born on April 13, 1886 in Bârlad. Director Sergiu Nicolaescu and actress Rodica Mandache were also born on April 13.
Nicolae Tonitza, Romanian painter PHOTO: Archives
1886: The Romanian painter Nicolae Tonitza was born
Nicolae Tonitza (b. April 13, 1886, Bârlad, Romania – d. February 27, 1940, Bucharest, Romania) was a Romanian painter, caricaturist, lithographer, engraver, ceramist, graphic designer and art chronicler.
Nicolae Tonitza is one of Romania's greatest painters of all time, an interpreter of “lushly colored sorrows“. He is considered the leader of his generation of artists, which included Ressu, Iser, Petraşcu or Palladi, standing out for the complexity of the activities he tackled: painting, drawing, caricature, pottery, stage painter, writer and plastic chronicler.
Nicolae Tonitza PHOTO: Wikipedia
He impressed by the way he captured the tones of light and the charm of the atmosphere in his works, both in the country and abroad, through the exhibitions presented in Munich, Paris, Rome, Venice and Genoa.
During the First World War he was mobilized and became a prisoner in Kîrdjali, Bulgaria. After the war, he moved to Bucharest, and between 1921-1924 he lived in Vălenii de Munte. His first solo exhibition was held in 1921, where he presented 78 works, including “Man of a New World”.
In 1926 he founded the “Group of Four”, together with Oscar Han, Francisc Șirato and Ștefan Dimitrescu. He participated in international exhibitions, being awarded the “Grand Prix” in Barcelona (1929) and the “Diploma of Honor” in Paris (1937). In 1937 he became rector of the School of Fine Arts in Iași, and in 1938 he received the “Elena and G. Vlasto” Award from the Romanian Academy.
Seriously ill since 1937, Nicolae Tonitza passed to the Lord on February 26, 1940, in Bucharest. Nine years later, as a tribute to his cultural heritage, the newly established art high school in Bucharest received his name.
1906: Irish novelist and playwright Samuel Beckett was born
Samuel Beckett (b. 13 April 1906, Ireland – d. 22 December 1989, France) was an Irish playwright, novelist and poet of English and French expression. In 1969 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Nobel Committee's reasoning: “for his writing, which – in new forms for the novel and drama – in the absence of modern man gains elevation“.
Samuel Beckett PHOTO: Archives
Beckett was born in Dublin but studied and taught in Paris where he settled in 1937.
His plays belong to the theater of the absurd. Beckett combined nostalgic humor with a devastating sense of grief and defeat. “En attendant Godot” (“Waiting for Godot”) (1952) and “End of the game” (“The Last Game”) (1957) remain two of Beckett's most controversial plays.
1930: Sergiu Nicolaescu, director, actor, film producer and Romanian politician, was born
Since 1989, he has been involved in politics, being a social-democratic senator in several legislatures. He gained international fame both as a director, with films like “Dacii” or “Mihai Viteazul”, and as an actor, with the role of Commissioner Miclovan – from which the famous line remained: “A trifle. They scourged me”
At the age of 5, he left his hometown, his family settling in Timișoara. In 1948, upon finishing high school, he was admitted to three faculties: Belle Arte, Polytechnic and the School of Naval Officers, preferring the last one. In 1962, he suddenly gained fame in the world of cinema after making the production “Memory of the Rose”. The success of this film was unexpected, it was shown in Paris for 10 years.
Sergiu Nicolaescu PHOTO: The truth
The film is a metaphor: it lasts 7 minutes and is a story with flowers that embody the destinies of some people, and with it Sergiu Nicolaescu received the Excellence Award of the World Cinema Technicians Union. “Columbia” studios in the USA bought the film for 10,000 dollars, a remarkable fact at that time for a film from a communist state.
1943: Rodica Mandache, Romanian theater, film and television actress, was born
Rodica Mandache was born on April 13, 1943, in Iasi, where she began her studies. From the “Oltea Doamna” High School, from which he graduated (today “Mihai Eminescu”), he left with the idea, unknown to anyone, to conquer the world of theater and film.
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“It was a girls' high school, a beautiful high school. I was proud to be there. The whole class wanted to do Theater. (The classmates) were in love with the theater, with the film. It was a fascination that at that time was very hot. The fact that I was the only one who did it makes me, in a way, their exponent. I don't think I recited anything during school. I kept it as a big secret, I didn't want it to be known. It was something intimate, it was something I thought about from the beginning. I didn't even think about it. I think I would have been repetitive in any other job.” the actress told in an interview for “Weekend Adevărul”.
Rodica Mandache PHOTO: The truth
In 1964, he graduated from the “IL Caragiale” Theater and Cinematography Institute, in the class of Professor Octavian Cotescu.
He played in numerous plays on the big stages in Bucharest, being one of the most beloved of the National Theater and Odeon. One of his reference roles is the one in the play written by Tudor Muşatescu “A Winter's Night's Dream”, in which he played alongside Florin Piersic, with whom he had a special relationship on stage.
Over time, he also played in famous Romanian films, such as “Tonight we are dancing in the family”, “A commissioner accuses” or “Nea Mărin billionaire”.
In 2007, she received the UNITER Award for “Best Actress in a Supporting Role”.
1963: Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player, was born
Born in 1963 in Soviet Azerbaijan, Garry Kasparov was one of the greatest chess players in history before becoming a staunch opponent of Vladimir Putin.
Garry Kasparov PHOTO: Mediafax
In 2013, worried about possible prosecution, Kasparov left Russia and since then lives in the US, from where he continues to denounce Russian power and its military campaign against Ukraine.
1964: Sidney Poitier became the first black actor to win an Oscar for his role in Lilies of the Field (1963)
Sidney Poitier was a Bahamian-born American actor, film director, activist, and ambassador. In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, becoming the first black actor to win the award and the first person from the Bahamas to win an Oscar.
1993: Francisc Munteanu, Romanian writer, director and screenwriter, died
Francisc Munteanu was born on April 9, 1924, in Vetel, Hunedoara county. He was a Romanian writer, screenwriter and director, known for his significant contributions to Romanian literature and cinematography.
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In his youth, he had various occupations, including apprentice locksmith in Reșita, laborer and sailor on the Danube. Later, he worked as an editor at the newspaper “patriot” from Arad and held the position of general inspector in the Department of Theaters of the Ministry of Arts and Information.
Francisc Munteanu has published over 30 volumes, including short stories such as “Lenza”, “Ciocârlia”, “Hotel Tristețe” and “Heaven Begins on the Third Floor”. Among his novels are “A Man Came”, “The Dam”, “If All Trees Were the Same”, “Beyond the Walls”, “Four Hot Days” saddle. In 1955, he received the Romanian State Prize for the novel “In the city on Mureș”.
Francisc Munteanu PHOTO: Wikipedia
In cinematography, Munteanu debuted as a screenwriter in 1959 with the film “Vthe banks of the Danube”, directed by Liviu Ciulei, who won the Grand Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Festival in 1961. Later, he became a director at the Buftea Film Studios, making notable films such as “In the Age of Love” (1963), “Four Steps from Infinity” (1964) saddle.
He was also vice-president of the Association of Romanian Filmmakers (ACIN) and general director of theaters. Francisc Munteanu is recognized for discovering the talent of the actor Costel Băloiu, the performer of the main role in the series “Freckled“.
He died on April 13, 1993, in Bucharest. In 2024, on the occasion of the centenary of his birth, the personality of Francisc Munteanu was honored in his hometown Vețel, through a special event in which the actor Costel Băloiu also participated.
