Les relations du sculpteur américain George Julian Zolnay avec la Roumanie, son pays natal

Abstract

Born on 4th of July 1862 in Bucharest, of a former 1848 Hungarian revolutionist father, and a Romanian mother, George Julian Zolnay was a graduate of the School of Fine Arts and a good violin player too. While following the sculpture classes of the Vienna Fine Arts Academy his professor recommended him to go to the United States to give a helping hand to the completion of the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exhibition. He settled there and in 1897 received his American citizenship. Zolnay eventually became a reputed American sculptor but he had never forgotten his native country. On the contrary, he kept a constant correspondence with former friends, colleagues and army comrades. As a tribute to his native country, in 1899, he offered to the Art Museum in Bucharest a gesso model of his most recent sculpture. Called Grief, his work was a funerary monument for Winnie Davis’s tomb in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. His gift was gratefully received and King Carol I awarded him the Bene Merenti Medal. This distinction made a great sensation among his American colleagues from the Arts Club in New York who offered a dinner in his honor. In 1902, while paying a visit to Romania, he was received by King Carol in a private audience at the Peleș Castle in Sinaia. Years later, in 1929, Zolnay wrote a comprehensive autobiography for his two daughters in which he described this important event in his life. King Carol seemed interested in everything American and asked him a lot of questions on various topics thus prolonging the meeting to more than an hour, a fact which was unheard at the Romanian Court where stern rules where duly observed.In 1911 he planned another visit to Romania, to show it to his wife and introduce her to his family. The young lady prepared a Romanian folk costume, precious wedding gift from her mother-in-low, to wear at the audience to the Royal Court. But a cholera epidemic prevented the Zolnays to travel down the Danube and all hopes to come to Bucharest were given up.Zolnay’s following trip to Romania was in the spring of 1923. At that time, the sculptor was in Italy supervising the founding of his latest monument for Nashville, Tennessee, the War Memorial also called the Fallen Warrior, or the Soldier’s Mother or the Gold Star Monument. Taking a leave from the foundry, he undertook an exhausting and perilous train voyage to his native country, via Yugoslavia. He spent a few weeks in Bucharest where life was quite cheap. Consequently, the sculptor enjoyed luxury accommodation and lavishly meals in the Capital City. He was kindly received by Queen Marie who firstly chided him for having made America his home instead of devoting his life to the artistic and intellectual development of his country. Their conversation was undertaken in three languages because Zolnay was an accomplished polyglot. The artist showed the pictures of his monument to the Queen who expressed her wish to have the War Memorial placed in one of the central plazas. Afterwards, they talked about the United States for Queen Marie’s great desire was to visit that faraway country – a dream which was accomplished three years later in the triumphal journey from coast to coast. Queen Marie enjoyed their talking and asked him to visit her again but that opportunity was lost due to Her Majesty’s unexpected voyage to Belgrade, to see her daughter, young Queen Marioara of Yugoslavia.Back to Italy, Zolnay wrote a letter to his friend, the diplomat Vasile Stoica, asking his counsel and help for rising funds from the Romanian community in the United States. The money was needed for founding a bronze replica of the War Memorial. Unfortunately, neither money nor monument was rose in Bucharest. In spite of this failure, Zolnay kept good memories for his meeting with Queen Marie and her brilliant conversation.