FOREWORD
The monumental
Palace of the National Military Circle
is one of the most admired architectural creations of Bucharest.
The history of this edifice began when the "Military Circle of the Officers of the Bucharest Garrison" was founded on December
15th, 1876, which, two decades later, will be acknowledged as a legal person and institution of general interest of the army under the
name of "Military Circle."
The construction of the Palace, built in a French neoclassical style, leaning towards the baroque, was achieved mostly due to the
donations of the officers as well as grants and subsidies from the state. The one who turned the officers' dream into a reality was the
Romanian architect Dimitrie Maimarolu, an important personality of his time, together with Ernest Doneaud, the French architect, and
engineers Anghel Saligny and Elie Radu. Even if the construction of the building lasted more than a decade, due to the political unrest
of those times, the wait was over when, on February 4th 1923, in the presence of King Ferdinand the Ist and Queen Maria, as well as
other important representatives of the War Ministry, the official, solemn inauguration of the
Palace of the Military Circle
too place, a
significant event for the United Romanian Army. The architectural characteristics of the edifice are the subtle and balanced play of the
shapes and volumes, the harmonious joining of plane surfaces with round ones, the gradual passage from the horizontal plane of the
street to the vertical one of the building and turning plane surfaces into a monumental volume.
Throughout time,
The National Military Circle
has become a professional central institution belonging to the army with a cultural-
educational, artistic, as well as image, representation and protocol profile at the level of the Defence Ministry, an institution that
receives annually visits from numerous military and civilian delegation from the country and abroad, and which hosts multiple
representation events organised by the Ministry of Defence, the Presidency and the Government of Romania.
All those who enter the sumptuous Palace are impressed by the imposing areas in which classical architecture blends seamlessly
with modern details and are decorated with stuccos, bas-reliefs, decorative elements, works of art and highly valuable furniture. The
interiors are decorated with various works of art from its own collection, some belonging to the national cultural patrimony - works
signed by Nicolae Grigorescu, Iosif Iser, Costin Petrescu, D. Stoica or by contemporary artists who have exhibited on the walls of the
institution.
The exhibiting activity was launched in the Moor Hall on July 20th, 1992, and three years later the "Art Gallery" was inaugurated,
a wonderful room decorated with marble, positioned on the ground floor of the Palace of the National Military Circle which will become
on of the most prestigious exhibition halls in the Capital as the result of an exigent selection in terms of the value and quality of the
works and exhibitors. Even from the beginning the „Art Gallery“ has created a name for itself as being a select area, especially generous
to the arts, a large number of personal exhibits being organised with professional painters, or collective exhibits in which works of
hundreds of artists were shown. "Halls of watercolours and pastels" were organized and not lastly valuable exhibits of artists from the
various branches in the country of the Artist's Unions from Constanta, Braila and other cities. It is a comforting feeling for the army in
Bucharest as well as for any citizen off the street who enjoys harmony and colour to know that there is a place where the gates are
always open and that a meeting with the great Romanian painters is possible.
The picture gallery of
The National Military Circle
has grown every year, preserving today's values for future generations. Thus,
on June 13th, 2001, the "Contemporary Art Gallery of the National Military Circle" was inaugurated, a place in which the works donated
by exhibited painters are admired by numerous delegations from beyond our borders but also local ones which have crossed the threshold
of the Palace on different occasions. Such a "treasure" could not be hidden from view and that is why it was decided, alongside Mr. Victor
Simion, art historian and old collaborator of
The National Military Circle
, to create an Album of the artists who have had exhibits on
the walls of the institutions for the joy of the soul of the authentic art enthusiast.
We hope that we may be able to offer from now on to the military and civilian public, the possibility to admire, at the "Art
Gallery", creations of Romanian artists, works that are part of the great tradition of Romanian art.
Director of The National Military Circle
Lieutenant-colonel, Marian Ghica
