Corneliu Baba was a Romanian painter primarily known for his portraits but also as a genre painter and book illustrator. With his originality, mastery and deep realism, Baba’s art gained high appreciation both in Romania and abroad. He was the third son of Gheorghe Baba and Mathilda Baba and briefly studied at the National School of Fine Arts in Bucharest in 1926, but did not receive a diploma. He later continued his studies with the help of Nicolae Tonitza in Iași and received a Fine Arts diploma in 1938, where he was named assistant to the painting department in 1939 and then professor of painting in 1946. Despite a difficult relationship with the Communist authorities who denounced him as a formalist, Baba managed to establish himself as an illustrator and artist. 

He used the great tradition of painting, known as the space of classicism, as a solution to overcome the contradictions of the time. His art was influenced by the Old Masters such as El Greco, Rembrandt and Goya with a strong academic influence. He painted many scenes from the 1907 uprising and rediscovered the Romanian peasant’s face and world, giving them the symbol of permanence. Baba was allowed to travel to Russia in 1955 and won a gold medal at an international exhibition in Warsaw. He exhibited in Venice, Moscow, Leningrad and other cities.