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Andrew Salcedo
Prof. Jessica Santone
Modern Art 3035 01
11/9/2016
Romania
I feel that many artists try to use their art for a higher purpose and I feel that Romanticism
in art gave artists new ways to explore different subjects and styles. This movement broke away
from the balance, idealization and rationality that dominated most artists and art forms of the
time. It created a more emotional form of art that quickly became popular in the 19th century.
Among the list of artists that were available I chose Ignat Bednarik for his diversity in
multiple genres of art. Bednarik had worked in portrait, landscape, still life, genre scenes,
composition. Some of his most famous art works were his water colors which didnt surprise me
as he studied under a sculptor and a water colorist at the Bucharest School of Fine Arts in 1898.
During his career Bednarik had brought the influence of European symbolism
During World War 1 no other country experienced more devastation than Europe.
Bednarik was a member of the War Team of Artists and Sculptors set up by Queen Marie and
during this time he spent his time to express the horrors of the war. During this time there was a
dramatic change in the form of his art pieces. I found his art piece Fighting for the Flag to be a
particularly powerful art piece. It very much reminds me of the raising of the flag in Iwo Jima at
the Iwo Jima memorial in Washington DC. I believe that art pieces such as these help people to
grasp what is going on within their country at the time. Many painters employ the use of
symbolism in their art and it is especially show in Bednariks pieces. I believe the War Team of

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Artists and Sculptors was a great way for artists to express emotions felt during the war. As a
symbolist I feel that he still retained some romantic influence within his work.
I had very little information to go off of upon researching this artist. I looked through his
work and based off of what I could find I noticed some things about his work. Comparing his
piece La Fantana and La Umbra I felt that Bednarik enjoyed to paint pieces that depicted the
daily lives of his peers. I believe that he added subtle hints of symbolism behind his work. Once
the war came I also saw how much it affected his work and could see that he wished to use his
work to spread a powerful message to those that see it. Even looking at his work now such as the
piece To the Sacrificed Heroes I feel that I symbolized a powerful message of what was lost
during the war and this must have had the same affect to others in the country.

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Works Cited
"Ignat Bednarik." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.