"Sabin Popp and Theodora Cernat Popp" - Temporary Exhibition

Painter Sabin Popp (1896-1928) and sculptress Theodora Cernat Popp (1897-1980), husband and wife, started their careers in the 1920s. The exhibition brings to light two lesser-known artists whose work is evocative of the endeavours of an entire generation of intellectuals willing to experiment with modern art while firmly grounding it in the century-long spiritual tradition of post-Byzantine art.

Sabin Popp died very young and left a fairly small number of works behind. Whether drawing on Christian subjects, human figure or nature, his compositions are easily identifiable through a highly personal style which blends strong contours, classical clarity, brevity and balance. Theodora Cernat Popp definitely belongs to that first generation of women who made their way head-up in a world dominated by male artists. Her work, focusing primarily on human figure, reveals a symbolist influence doubled by modernist touches.

To tell their story, the exhibition relies on both the museum’s and the family’s collection, and the enthusiastic professional support of art historian Adina Nanu, the artists’ daughter-in-law.

Kretzulescu Rooms
22 November 2019 – 29 March 2020
Organisers: National Museum of Art of Romania, Adina Nanu
Visiting hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 10.00 – 18.00 hrs.
Last admission: 17.00 hrs.