Cantacuzino Palace
{{Distinguish|Cantacuzino Castle}}
{{Infobox Historic building
|name = Cantacuzino Palace
Palatul Cantacuzino
|image = The Cantacuzino Palace from Bucharest (Romania).jpg
|caption =
|map_type = Romania
|coordinates = {{coord|44.4487|26.0883|display=inline,title}}
|location_town = Bucharest
|location_country = {{Flag|Romania}}
|architect = Ion D. Berindey
|client =
|engineer =
|construction_start_date = 1898{{cite book|last1=Mariana Celac, Octavian Carabela and Marius Marcu-Lapadat|first1=|title=Bucharest Architecture - an annotated guide|date=2017|publisher=Ordinul Arhitecților din România|isbn=978-973-0-23884-6|page=90|url=|language=en}}
|date_demolished =
|cost =
|structural_system =
|style = Beaux Arts & Rococo Revival
|size =
}}
Cantacuzino Palace is located on Calea Victoriei no. 141, Bucharest, Romania. It was built by architect Ion D. Berindey in the Beaux Arts style, having a few Rococo Revival rooms. Today it houses the George Enescu museum.[http://www.vinland.ro/calator-in-tara-mea/palatul-cantacuzino-sau-muzeul-george-enescu-bucuresti Palatul Cantacuzino sau Muzeul George Enescu – București]
History
{{multiple image
| align = left
| total_width = 200
| direction = horizontal
| footer = One of the gates of the palace (left), and a gate of the Hôtel du Rond-Point in Paris (right), both being very similar
| image1 = One of the Gates of the George Enescu Museum.jpg
| width1 =
| height1 =
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 = 9 Rond-point des Champs-Élysées-Marcel-Dassault, Paris (01).jpg
| width2 =
| height2 =
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
}}
The palace was built in 1901–1902 for Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, mayor of Bucharest and former prime-minister, after the plans of Ion D. Berindey, in the French Beaux Arts style. After his death, the building was inherited by his son Mihail G. Cantacuzino, who died prematurely in 1929. Mihail's wife Maria remarried in December 1939 with music composer George Enescu. On 10 August 1913, at the end of the Second Balkan War, the Treaty of Bucharest was signed here.{{Cite web|url=https://www.descopera.ro/case-de-poveste/17621864-palatul-cantacuzino-locul-unde-nababul-interzis-fumatul|accessdate=12 December 2018|author=Mihaela Stoica|title=Palatul Cantacuzino, locul unde Nababul a interzis fumatul, iar George Enescu era oaspetele preferat al Marucăi. Pe Regina Maria o primea stând jos}} The building – known as Cantacuzino Palace at the time – also hosted the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in the eve of World War II.
After the death of George Enescu in 1955, his wife stated in her will that the palace would host a museum dedicated to the artist. In 1956, The National Museum George Enescu was established.[http://patrimoniu.gov.ro/fr/monumente-istorice/lista-patrimoniului-european/9-monumente-istorice/45-palatul-cantacuzino National Institute of Historical Monuments – Cantacuzino palace] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119133851/http://patrimoniu.gov.ro/fr/monumente-istorice/lista-patrimoniului-european/9-monumente-istorice/45-palatul-cantacuzino |date=January 19, 2015 }}Dan Berindei, Sebastian Boniface – Bucharest Travel Guide, Ed. Sport-Tourism, Bucharest, 1980
== Description ==
The exterior and most of the rooms are Beaux Arts, the rest being Rococo Revival. The two lions at the entrance, and the gates and fences, in the Louis XIV style, give the building a princely look. The palace had the fame of a place in Bucharest where balls were held.{{cite book |last1=Popescu|first1=Alexandru|title=Casele și Palatele Bucureștilor|date=2018|publisher=Editura Cetatea de Scaun|page=113|isbn=978-606-537-382-2|language=ro}} For the decoration of the interiors, Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino turned to the most famous artists of the time: George Demetrescu Mirea, Nicolae Vermont and Costin Petrescu. Nicolae Vermont made six medallions (oil on canvas embossed on the wall), three of which were signed and dated 1907. Five of the six medallions are placed above the doors in the hallway that led to the rooms to the right of the entrance. Two of them, Shepherd with Sheep (Cioban cu Oile) and Peasant Woman with Vessel (Țărăncuță cu Cofă), are directly inspired by the work of Nicolae Grigorescu, under whose influence was their author.{{cite book|last1=Oprea|first1=Petre|title=Itinerar Inedit prin Case Vechi din București|date=1986|publisher=Editura Sport-Turism|isbn=|page=37|url=|language=ro}}
In present day, about only five rooms can be visited, the rest being occupied by some institutions.
Gallery
Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino (aka Nababul) Palace, Bucharest, Romania, 1898-1906, by Ion D. Berindey.jpg|The Palace during the Belle Époque (1877-1916), before the construction of the building at the intersection of Calea Victoriei and Strada Frumoasă
Detail of a One of the Gates of the George Enescu Museum.jpg|Detail of one of the gates
Small gate of the George Enescu Museum.jpg|A smaller gate of the palace
Detail of a small gate of the George Enescu Museum.jpg|Detail of that smaller gate of the palace
View of the George Enescu Museum, taken from the garden of the palace.jpg|View of the palace, with its pair of Louis XIV style lions at the entrance
Entrance of the George Enescu Museum.jpg|The glass and metal entrance of the palace
Wall of the entrance room of the George Enescu Museum.jpg|Wall of the entrance room
Door handle of a door in the entrance room of the George Enescu Museum.jpg|Handle of a door in the entrance room
Door in the ground floor hallway of the George Enescu Museum.jpg|Door in the ground floor hallway
Rococo Revival stuccos in the room where tickets and souvenirs are sold, inside the George Enescu Museum.jpg|Peasant Woman with Vessel (Țărăncuță cu Cofă) by Nicolae Vermont, surrounded by Rococo Revival stuccos in the room where tickets and souvenirs are sold
Rococo Revival chimneypiece in the room where tickets and souvenirs are sold, inside the George Enescu Museum.jpg|Rococo Revival chimneypiece in the room where tickets and souvenirs are sold
Festoon-based ornament on a Rococo Revival chimneypiece in the room where tickets and souvenirs are sold, inside the George Enescu Museum.jpg|Festoon-based ornament on the same chimneypiece
Detail with Rococo Revival stuccos in the room where tickets and souvenirs are sold, inside the George Enescu Museum.jpg|Detail of Rococo Revival stuccos in the same room
The room where tickets and souvenirs are sold, inside the George Enescu Museum.jpg|That room
Door of a room filled with stuccos, in the George Enescu Museum.jpg|Door of another room, filled with stuccos
Beautiful ceiling of a room of the George Enescu Museum.jpg|Astonishing highly decorated ceiling in a salon
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{in lang|en}} [http://www.georgeenescu.ro/en/ Official website]
- {{in lang|ro}} [http://www.artline.ro/1_597_Palatul_Cantacuzino_si_Muzeul_George_Enescu_6023.html Cantacuzino Palace and George Enescu Museum]
{{Museums in Bucharest}}
{{Authority control}}