Henric Trenk
Encyclopedia
Henric Trenk was a Swiss
-born Romania
n painter and graphic artist, best known for his Romantic
landscapes
and his association with writer and amateur archaeologist Alexandru Odobescu
.
family in Zug
, Trenk studied at the Kunstakademie
in Düsseldorf
, in the Kingdom of Prussia
's Rhine Province
. He first arrived in the Austrian
-ruled region of Transylvania
around 1846, and moved to Wallachia
in 1851. He remained in Wallachia as it became a constituent part of the Romanian Kingdom
, and never again left its territory. Later in life, Trenk was naturalized
a Romanian.
He came to associate with Odobescu, and was appointed by the latter official illustrator of the magazines printed by the Romanian Commission of Historical Monuments. Trenk traveled throughout the regions of Muntenia
and Oltenia
, creating a large number of oil painting
s featuring rural scenes, historical relics, and natural scenes—including several depictions of the Olt River
near the Cozia Monastery
. For a while, he taught drawing at a Bucharest
gymnasium
, and had the major Romanian painter Ion Andreescu
among his students.
, Henric Trenk documented places of interest, as well as genre scenes in the Wallachian Plain—fair
s, inns, lodgings, as well as more exotic portrayals of Roma people
and the distinctively-dressed Romanian postilion
s. While admired for their exactitude (unprecedented in Romanian art
), these works have drawn criticism for their impersonality.
Among his most distinctive works is a mountainous landscape of the Olt at the meander
s of Cozia (known locally as Cârlige, "Hooks"), which was attributed by some to his nostalgia for the Alpine
landscape. A similar feeling motivation was deduced from his earlier paintings, the Romantic picturesque
landscapes showing the Southern Carpathian
areas of Transylvania.
Trenk was also active in research towards improving the paint
used in fine arts, publishing in several chemistry journals. His aim was to find a paint which would be durable, but also matte, avoiding distracting reflections on the painting's surface. His successful invention of such a paint was announced in a February 1869 note by Carol Szathmari
, court painter of Domnitor
Carol I of Romania
.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
-born Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n painter and graphic artist, best known for his Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
landscapes
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
and his association with writer and amateur archaeologist Alexandru Odobescu
Alexandru Odobescu
Alexandru Ioan Odobescu was a Romanian author, archaeologist and politician.-Biography:He was born in Bucharest, the second child of General Ioan Odobescu and his wife Ecaterina. After attending Saint Sava College and, from 1850, a Paris lycée, he took the baccalauréat in 1853 and studied...
.
Biography
Born to an ethnic GermanEthnic German
Ethnic Germans historically also ), also collectively referred to as the German diaspora, refers to people who are of German ethnicity. Many are not born in Europe or in the modern-day state of Germany or hold German citizenship...
family in Zug
Zug
Zug , is a German-speaking city in Switzerland. The name ‘Zug’ originates from fishing vocabulary; in the Middle Ages it referred to the right to ‘pull up’ fishing nets and hence to the right to fish.The city of Zug is located in the Canton of Zug and is its capital...
, Trenk studied at the Kunstakademie
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, formerly Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, is the Arts Academy of the city of Düsseldorf. It is well known for having produced many famous artists, such as Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Thomas Demand, and Andreas Gursky...
in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, in the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
's Rhine Province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
. He first arrived in the Austrian
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
-ruled region of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
around 1846, and moved to Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
in 1851. He remained in Wallachia as it became a constituent part of the Romanian Kingdom
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
, and never again left its territory. Later in life, Trenk was naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
a Romanian.
He came to associate with Odobescu, and was appointed by the latter official illustrator of the magazines printed by the Romanian Commission of Historical Monuments. Trenk traveled throughout the regions of Muntenia
Muntenia
Muntenia is a historical province of Romania, usually considered Wallachia-proper . It is situated between the Danube , the Carpathian Mountains and Moldavia , and the Olt River to the west...
and Oltenia
Oltenia
Oltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Danube, the Southern Carpathians and the Olt river ....
, creating a large number of oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
s featuring rural scenes, historical relics, and natural scenes—including several depictions of the Olt River
Olt River
The Olt River is a river in Romania. It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its source is in the Hăşmaş Mountains of the eastern Carpathian Mountains, near the village Bălan. It flows through the Romanian counties Harghita, Covasna, Braşov, Sibiu, Vâlcea and Olt...
near the Cozia Monastery
Cozia Monastery
Cozia Monastery, erected close to Călimănești by Mircea cel Bătrân in 1388 and housing his tomb, is one of the most valuable monuments of national medieval art and architecture in Romania....
. For a while, he taught drawing at a Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
, and had the major Romanian painter Ion Andreescu
Ion Andreescu
-Biography:He was born in Bucharest into a merchant's family. In 1869 he entered Theodor Aman's Fine Arts School.By 1872 he was an instructor of drawing and calligraphy at the Bishop's School in Buzău. In 1873 he left the Bishop's School for the Tudor Vladimirescu Communal Secondary School, also...
among his students.
Work
With support from Odobescu, who was attempting to build a record of historical locations and folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, Henric Trenk documented places of interest, as well as genre scenes in the Wallachian Plain—fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
s, inns, lodgings, as well as more exotic portrayals of Roma people
Roma minority in Romania
The Roma constitute one of the major minorities in Romania. According to the 2002 census, they number 535,140 people or 2.5% of the total population, being the second-largest ethnic minority in Romania after Hungarians...
and the distinctively-dressed Romanian postilion
Postilion
A postilion rider was the driver of a horse-drawn coach or post chaise, mounted on one of the drawing horses...
s. While admired for their exactitude (unprecedented in Romanian art
Art of Romania
Art of Romania encompasses the artists and artistic movements in Romania.-Romanian contemporary and modern artists:* Almaşan Virgil* Adela Andea* George Apostu* Corneliu Baba* Calin Baban* Sabin Bălaşa* Horia Bernea* Traian Brădean...
), these works have drawn criticism for their impersonality.
Among his most distinctive works is a mountainous landscape of the Olt at the meander
Meander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
s of Cozia (known locally as Cârlige, "Hooks"), which was attributed by some to his nostalgia for the Alpine
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
landscape. A similar feeling motivation was deduced from his earlier paintings, the Romantic picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
landscapes showing the Southern Carpathian
Southern Carpathians
The Southern Carpathians or the Transylvanian Alps are a group of mountain ranges which divide central and southern Romania, on one side, and Serbia, on the other side. They cover part of the Carpathian Mountains that is located between the Prahova River in the east and the Timiș and Cerna Rivers...
areas of Transylvania.
Trenk was also active in research towards improving the paint
Paint
Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
used in fine arts, publishing in several chemistry journals. His aim was to find a paint which would be durable, but also matte, avoiding distracting reflections on the painting's surface. His successful invention of such a paint was announced in a February 1869 note by Carol Szathmari
Carol Szathmari
Carol Szathmari was an Austro-Hungarian-born Hungarian painter, lithographer and photographer...
, court painter of Domnitor
Domnitor
Domnitor was the official title of the ruler of the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia between 1859 and 1866....
Carol I of Romania
Carol I of Romania
Carol I , born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was reigning prince and then King of Romania from 1866 to 1914. He was elected prince of Romania on 20 April 1866 following the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup...
.