145. Founders of the Church from Leordeni, Great Vornic Mihail George Manu and his family

1903, Davideşti, Argeş - 1975, Bucureşti

Estimate

EUR 10.000 - 18.000

Session

Thu, 18 June 2026 19:00

Mihail George Manu married Smaranda Văcărescu on March 26, 1796, an occasion on which he received as a dowry the Văcărescu family estate at Leordeni. Here he was to recondition the old mansion and raise a modern residence in classical style, alongside which he would build a church, as a chapel of the family, later donated to the village of Leordeni. According to the inscription on the founding stone, the construction was to be completed in 1808, with wall paintings added later. The lives of the saints and the icons inside were made by the painter Mincu, so that later, in 1825, the votive painting that is represented in the present painting would also appear. The mural painting was made by none other than Nicolae Polcovnicul, one of the most important artists of the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, a major player in the history of Romanian art. He is considered among the first proto-modern artists who successfully transition from muralist to easel painter. As for the votive painting, the same Polcovnicul has an interesting, even unique choice for those times: the painting was in oil on the interior walls of the church. In addition, probably also at the wishes of Mihail Mano's sons, Polcovnicul combines in an interesting way clothing styles, a combination between the Turkish spirit - in the portrayal of the foreman Mihail Manu- and the clothing medley by which his children are portrayed. (I.P.)

References

MANU, Constantin, "Documents from the XVIth-XIXth Centuries Related to the Mano Family", Constantin George Manu, Royal Court Typography, Bucharest, 1907

Dimensions

width 201 cm, height 166 cm

Description

oil on canvas

Research information

On the reverse, plaque, "The Grand Vornic Mihail G. Manu, his wife Smaranda Văcărescu, founders and their children - from left to right - Ana Kociubei, Dimitrie, Nicolae, Constantin, Alexandru, Ioan, George and Grigore. Old mural painting from the Church of Leurdeni. The work is reproduced in the catalog "Documents from the XVI - XIX Centuries relating to the Mano family", Constantin George Manu, Royal Court Typography, Bucharest, 1907, on page 558, with the description: "The Grand Vornic Mihail George Mano, his wife Smaranda Văcărescu and their children (In the middle on the right, Ioan Mano, Caimacam of 1858. Mural painting from the Church of Leurdeni (Ilfov)." The canvas is a period copy of the votive painting made by Nicolae Polcovnicul, a composition completed in October 1825, as an order given by Mihail Manu for the Manu family chapel from the estate at Leordeni.

Lot.notes

On the back, inventory number of the National Museum of Art of Romania, PN GG 3523.

PROVENANCE

Gen. George Manu collection (1833 - 1911); Constantin G. Manu collection (1871-1959); from 1948, the collection of the Alexandru Saint-Georges Museum; from 1949, the collection of the Art Museum of the R.P.R., inv. 3523; from 2015, the collection of the descendants of Constantin G.Manu.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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