Engraving originated in ancient China, where it was used to make maps and books or religious images. Much later, Venetian merchants brought the technique to Europe. However, engraving as an artistic genre of graphic art did not appear until the 15th century in northern Europe, specifically in Germany. The first wood engravings were identified between 1420 and 1430 in the Upper Rhine Valley, and the artist/engraver was the Master of Playing Cards, from whom 106 engravings are known.
I started acquiring engravings during my student years, when I used to visit antique shops in Bucharest. Of course, the serious purchases came after the 90s, when I had access to art galleries and auction houses in Europe.
In my collection are works made in Germany, the Netherlands, the Netherlands, France, England, Spain and Switzerland, starting the 15th century and continuing to the 19th, including the 20th century. There are about 90 artists and engravers who lived and worked in Europe during this period, starting with Schoengauer, Dürer, Lucas Cranach, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Marcantonio, Raimondi, Titian, Giulio Romano, Piranesi, Goltzius, Rembrandt, Rubens, Adriaen Ostade, Brueghel, Stradanus, the Wierix family, Anthony van Dyck, William Hogarth, Goya, Picasso, Max Ernst, Giacometti, Victor Brauner and others.
In 2021, we organised a tribute exhibition at the Brukenthal National Museum on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the birth of the collector Baron Samuel von Brukenthal, with around 100 prints on display. Subsequently, this exhibition was presented in Galați, Iași and Baia Mare. This exhibition will continue in the coming period, as there are museums in Romania interested in borrowing these works to exhibit in their halls.