Viorel Mărginean (b. 1933– d. 2022) was a Romanian painter, cultural figure, and honorary member of the Romanian Academy. Born in Cenade, Alba County, he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Cluj and later graduated from the Nicolae Grigorescu Institute of Fine Arts in Bucharest in 1959, under the guidance of Ioan Marșic. His artistic formation was further enriched by international study grants in the United States, France, England, and Italy, experiences that brought him into contact with broader currents of modern European and American art. 

Mărginean’s work was presented in numerous national and international exhibitions, including solo shows at Sala Dalles in Bucharest, the Palffy Palace in Vienna, the UNESCO Palace in Paris, the Accademia di Romania in Rome, the Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu, and the National Museum of Art of Romania. His paintings were praised for their clarity of vision and luminous chromatic harmony, qualities that prompted André Malraux to single him out at the opening of the Paris Biennale in 1967. 

Alongside his artistic practice, Mărginean held key cultural positions, serving as Vice-President of the Union of Visual Artists from 1978 to 1989, Director of the National Museum of Art of Romania from 1993 to 1995, and later Minister of Culture in the Romanian Government. His contributions were acknowledged through his election to the European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters in Paris and the International Academy of Modern Art in Rome, culminating inhis appointment as honorary member of the Romanian Academy in 2006. 

His works are held in major public collections, including the National Museum of Art of Romania and the Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca, as well as in numerous private collections across Europe, the United States, Australia, and Japan.