Romania. Silver Proof Coins Mark Birthday Anniversary of Eminent Artist

This year marks 175 years since the birth of the prolific and talented young artist. Andreescu was interested in several genres and subjects, he mostly preferred landscapes, self-portraits and still life drawn especially by nature. During his short tenure, he produced about 30 paintings, many of which are now on display in the Muzeul Național de Artă, Bucharest

Born on the 15^th February 1850 into a family of moderate means, surviving records do not indicate the location of his birth but it is believed to be Bucharest. Andreescu attended private primary school and gymnasium in Bucharest before starting at the National School of Fine Arts in 1869 led by noted artist Theodor Aman. By 1872, he became a professor at the department of linear drawing and calligraphy of the Episcopal Seminary in the town of Buzău and remained there until he travelled to Paris in 1878. There, Andreescu attended classes at the private art academy Académie Julian founded by the French painter Rodolphe Julian. During this time, he encountered fellow Romanian painter Nicolae Grigorescu (1838 – 1907) considered as one of the founders of modern Romanian art and Impressionism who would influence the work of Andreescu. Moving to the Barbizon Academy, Andreescu worked alongside artists such as Claude Monet and Jean-François Millet. The first exhibition he took part in included two of his most well-known works, ‘Start of Spring’ and ‘The Fair in Romania’ which were displayed along with other works from fellow artists Édouard Manet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Unfortunately, at the beginning of what was promised to be an exemplary career and notoriety in the arts, Andreescu fell ill with tuberculosis and had to return to Romania at the end of 1881. He died on the 22^nd October 1882 at the young age of just 32 years and was buried in the Șerban Vodă Cemetery in Bucharest.

Ioan Andreescu’s friend Nicolae Grigorescu was asked many years later about his colleague’s work to which he replied ‘Andreescu is the greatest artist the country has ever had, even counting myself. If he had lived longer, he would undoubtedly have become our great national artist’. As tribute to Ioan Andreescu, he was posthumously elected a member of the Romanian Academy in 1948.

The silver proof coins are produced by the Monetăria Statului, Romanian State Mint at their facilities in Bucharest on behalf of the National Bank. The obverse side replicates the image of Ioan Andreescu painted as his self-portrait in 1882 and which is part of the collection of the Muzeul Național de Artă, Bucharest. In a vertical direction is the text IOAN ANDREESCU along with the years 1850 – 1882. The reverse side features a composition of a painting palette and paintbrushes placed ear the lower half of the coin. Above and along the rim is the text ROMANIA with the denomination 10 LEI just below. The Romanian crest and year of issue, 2025 is shown just to the lower left.

Available from the 7^th April, the encapsulated silver coins are accompanied with a certificate of authenticity containing the signatures of the NBR governor and the central cashier. They are available directly through the Bucharest, Cluj, Iasi, and Timişoara regional branches of the National Bank of Romania. For additional information, please visit the numismatic section of the National Bank of Romania.