The Bucharest Pinacotheque (part of the Bucharest Municipality Museum) opens the exhibition “Between Socialist Realism and National Communism”, dedicated to one of the most complex and sensitive chapters of 20th-century Romanian art: the communist period and its visual expressions, from socialist realism to propaganda art.
The opening takes place on Friday, December 12, at 5:00 PM, at Suțu Palace.
Throughout the four decades of the regime, art was deeply shaped by the political context, often becoming an instrument of official discourse. In the early post-war years, socialist realism established itself as the dominant aesthetic direction, featuring glorifying themes centered on the “new man,” the working class, and the construction of the socialist society. From the 1960s until 1989, with the rise of “national communism,” political pressure on the arts intensified, and the public image was carefully crafted through controlled cultural messaging focused on history, identity, and the cult of personality.
The exhibition examines how artists positioned themselves within these realities: some adapted, others were marginalized, while a few managed to subtly introduce authentic forms of expression despite ideological constraints. Through works from the Bucharest Pinacotheque’s collections, complemented by pieces from other departments of the Bucharest Municipality Museum, visitors can trace the aesthetic, thematic, and functional transformations of the artist’s role in an era marked by political control.
The curatorial approach is documentary and contextual, without glorification or condemnation. Its aim is to understand the visual history of a time when art became, at times, a political tool, yet also a space where nuances, explorations, and small fragments of freedom could still surface.
With this exhibition, the Bucharest Pinacotheque reaffirms its mission as a public heritage institution: to present, objectively and responsibly, all stages of Romanian art as a fundamental part of the cultural memory of the city and of Romania.
The exhibition can be visited at Suțu Palace (2 I.C. Brătianu Blvd.) until August 30, 2026.
Visiting hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 10:00 AM–6:00 PM (last entry at 5:30 PM).
