Alexandru Romano

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Alexandru Romano had a brief career is situated within the formative chapter of modern Romanian painting, with a practice centred on portraiture and depictions of everyday life. The works known today are characterised by a descriptive register and a restrained palette, qualities that support a sober reading of physiognomy and costume without reliance on bravura effects. Documentation remains limited: no public exhibition records have been identified, and the current understanding of his oeuvre is reconstructed largely from works circulating on the art market and from a partial cultural memory. Within the broader evolution of Romanian portraiture at the turn of the century, Romano’s attention to likeness and social type aligns with tendencies that emphasized the communicative power of the human figure. During this period, portraiture acquired strong social connotations, and the genre of the society image gained prominence among patrons seeking markers of status and taste. Painters negotiated between convention and observation, carefully calibrating pose, costume and setting to meet contemporary expectations. Within this framework a measured descriptive method and chromatic restraint were not signs of hesitation; rather, they were effective strategies of legibility and decorum, corresponding both to the demands of clientele and to the prevailing taste of the period.