Early life and anarchism A native of
Pitești, Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești was the son of a landowner from
Olt, and, on his father's side, the descendant of immigrants from the
Epirote area of
Ioannina, whose ethnicity was either
Aromanian or
Albanian. His father became a local leader of the
Conservative Party. As one of his eccentricities, Bogdan-Pitești encouraged the—unsustainable—rumor that he was a direct descendant of an ancient
Wallachian
ruling house, the
Basarab Princes. According to at least one account, Bogdan-Pitești was educated in
Geneva, at a local
Catholic institution. but was no longer a practicing Catholic by the time of his death. Other sources express doubt that the Romanian aristocrat was ever affiliated with any university or college, in either France or
Switzerland. According to literary historian
Tudor Vianu, at that stage, the young man began associating with the criminal underworld. Like others in his generation, he may have been driven by a desire for shocking and morbid experiences. According to art historian Theodor Enescu, these ranged from erotic experimentation to the "boisterous shivers of anarchism", and from criminal enterprise to
decadent poetry. Bogdan-Pitești was a presence in the anarchist group of
Auguste Vaillant (later guillotined for plotting a terrorist coup), Reports exist that Bogdan-Pitești's politics were already a merger of opposite or hardly compatible doctrines. He respected Catholicism and
Judaism as the most elevated religious cultures, rejected Orthodoxy,
atheism and
communism as ideologies for the mediocre, and depicted himself as a
Catholic anarchist. He believed in
craniometry, and took
scientific racism at face value. At some stage during the late 1880s, Bogdan-Pitești became a supporter of
General Boulanger, who attempted to gain power in France with support from the
Orléanist,
Bonapartist and
socialist camps; he reputedly befriended the prominent Boulangist and
Romantic nationalist thinker
Maurice Barrès. In parallel, he himself became a representative of literary and artistic Symbolism, and supposedly maintained contacts with authors such as
Joris-Karl Huysmans,
Maurice Maeterlinck,
Octave Mirbeau,
Jean Moréas, and
Paul Verlaine. Another influence on him was the
occultist and novelist
Joséphin Péladan, whose
Rosicrucian salon he attended several times. Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești was eventually expelled from France, despite Huysmans' intervention in his favor. One urban legend recounts that Bogdan-Pitești was present at Vaillant's public execution and leaned over to kiss Vaillant's mangled body, which both disgusted and alarmed the judicial establishment. Zambaccian suggests that the decision to deport the Romanian provocateur was not politically motivated. He writes that Bogdan-Pitești had exhausted the patience of French authorities by trafficking in stolen bicycles. In 1896, with
Post-Impressionist artists Constantin Artachino,
Ștefan Luchian and
Nicolae Vermont, he founded
Salonul Independenților, the Romanian replica of the French
Société des Artistes Indépendants. They were soon joined by painter Nicolae Grant and caricaturist
Nicolae Petrescu-Găină. The exhibits featured some of Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești's own drawings, which he intended to use as illustrations for his book of
French-language poems,
Sensations internes ("Internal Sensations"). Noting the leader's own anarchist past,
Adevărul art columnist Gal wrote: "Bogdan has all the qualities and flaws of a sincere French revolutionary, but one who is not entirely clear and scientific. He has an extraordinary love for all things independent and hates to the point of excess all sectarian people, and all schools."
Salonul boasted among its honorary members the lionized oil painter
Nicolae Grigorescu, who had trained with the
Barbizon school. Bogdan-Pitești was especially fond of Luchian's work, and, in an 1896 article for the cultural magazine
Revista Orientală, spoke of him as "an admirable colorist", a "free spirit", and a purveyor of "revolutionary ideas". He boosted Luchian's self-confidence, urging him to apply his talents to illustrating "an idea",
Literatorul, Bronzes, Ileana Bogdan-Pitești was by then an inspiration for the blooming
Romanian Symbolist movement. In effect, he was the first Romanian expert on the work of Symbolist celebrities like
Odilon Redon,
Gustave Moreau, and (his favorite)
Alexandre Séon. He soon became a contributor to
Literatorul, a Symbolist magazine, In the end, Bogdan-Pitești provided the funds needed for
Bronzes to be published in Paris. Himself a disciple of Macedonski, T. Vianu comments that Bogdan-Pitești was probably unsuited for the task of introducing
Bronzes, and that, despite expectations, the volume failed to impress the French public. He notes the virtually complete lack of press reviews—with the notable exception of a May 1898 article in
Mercure de France, written by the Symbolist-anarchist
Pierre Quillard. Later in 1898, back in Romania, Bogdan-Pitești and the other
Salonul Independenților initiators joined up with author Ioan Bacalbașa and architect Ștefan Ciocâlteu. Its steering committee was later joined by the intellectual and political figures
Constantin Rădulescu-Motru,
Nicolae Xenopol, and
Nicolae Filipescu, as well as by the painter
Jean Alexandru Steriadi. Despite such consolidation, various
Ileana affiliates were not entirely committed to the cause, and never severed their links with Stănescu's official section. The new circle held meetings in a Brezoianu Street studio which was also its patron's home. Its feminine name
Ileana was probably a borrowing from
Romanian folklore, and may reference the
fairy tale character
Ileana Cosânzeana. Described by Vianu as a "refined art magazine", In parallel, Bogdan-Pitești began frequenting the country's first socialist pressure group, the
Romanian Social Democratic Workers' Party (PSDMR), and attending meetings between Bucharest workers. The PSDMR denounced him as an
agent provocateur of the Conservative Party, and he stood accused of breaking the party into tolerant and
antisemitic halves.
Péladan's visit , during the latter's visit to
Bucharest As head of
Ileana, Bogdan-Pitești organized
Joséphin Péladan's 1898 visit to Bucharest. It was a much-publicized event, which attracted the attention of high society and received ample coverage in the press; Bogdan-Pitești accompanied Péladan on visits to various Bucharest landmarks, including the Athenaeum, the
Chamber of Deputies, the Orthodox
Metropolitan and
Domnița Bălașa churches, as well as the
Roman Catholic Saint Joseph Cathedral. Among the politicians who attended the ceremonies were Nicolae Filipescu,
Constantin Dissescu,
Take Ionescu,
Ioan Lahovary, and
Constantin C. Arion; prominent intellectuals (
Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, Rădulescu-Motru etc.) were in the audience. Péladan agreed to lecture in front of
Societatea Ileana at the Atheneum, and his subject of choice was
The Genius of the Latin Race. The visit then turned to scandal: Péladan issued a call for all Romanians to embrace Catholicism, and left the country on pain of being deported. Various commentators are entirely dismissive of the visit and its importance. Th. Enescu describes its impact as "amazing", since Péladan was merely an "unusual [
funambulesc in the original] representative of
French culture". As
Ion Doican (or
Duican), he contributed to
Ileana essays praising various contemporary painters: Arthur Verona,
George Demetrescu Mirea,
Ileana only published a few issues before closing down in 1901. A similar split occurred between Luchian and his patron, sparked when Bogdan-Pitești made some favorable comments on Stăncescu's work, and probably took several years to mend. Over that decade, Bogdan-Pitești had also become one of
Literatoruls main financial backers. Writing in 1910, at a time when Romanian art came to be me more familiar with new artistic trends (including
Cubism and
Fauvism, both advocated locally by art critic Theodor Cornel), Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești adapted his discourse to the new trends. The art patron, who probably exercised considerable influence over Cornel, publicly complained that, instead of keeping up with the times, his fellow Romanian intellectuals still regarded
Impressionism as the ultimate novelty. On the occasion, he hailed the Post-Impressionist French artists
Paul Gauguin and
Paul Cézanne as the models to follow.
Slatina revolt and Vlaici colony 's
Vara la conac ("Summer at the Manor"), a 1912 depiction of Bogdan-Pitești's estate After his return to Romania, Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești was still noted for his political activities, although these shifted to the background during his
Ileana years. According to some reports, he spent some of his free time touring the countryside, rallying up peasants, inciting them to rebel, and mapping out a radical
land reform. There was confusion as to Bogdan-Pitești's political affiliation. He was known as "the peasants' candidate", but both sides of the Romanian
two-party system, the
National Liberal Party and the Conservative group, accused the other of secretly supporting his bid. During such campaigns, he is said to have misled his voters into believing that he was a son of the deposed
Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza, and therefore a natural champion of land reform. His activity in Olt is credited with having sparked some violent incidents: in at least one account, he instigated the peasants of
Slatina area to riot, and their revolt was only suppressed with use of force. Others however claim that the
Romanian Land Forces randomly shot at, then charged upon, the peaceful mass of demonstrators, killing at least 35 of them. Overall, Bogdan-Pitești claimed to have been held in judicial custody for some forty separate incidents, stressing that all these convictions were owed to
political crimes—while reporting this statement, T. Vianu noted that at least some should in fact be considered punishments for various
misdemeanors. Bogdan-Pitești consolidated his own estate when he inherited a manor in Vlaici village (part of
Colonești). It was, beginning in 1908, the center of his activities and home to his sizable art collection, as well as one of the first locations in Romania acting as a summer camp for painters and sculptors. The events he planned were attended by the
Ileana regulars, and, in time, attracted virtually all other major
en plein air painters of the day:
Nicolae Dărăscu,
Ștefan Dimitrescu,
Iosif Iser,
M. H. Maxy,
Theodor Pallady,
Camil Ressu. Reputedly, the
Ileana boss was losing a fortune on maintaining the Vlaici manor, surrounded as it was by barren land.
Știrbey-Vodă circle Circa 1908, the Bogdan-Pitești villa on Bucharest's Știrbey-Vodă Street (near the
Cișmigiu Gardens) began hosting regular gatherings of intellectuals. It also hosted the artists Luchian, Artachino, Verona, Maxy, Iser, Steriadi, Dimitrescu, Pallady, Ressu, Dărăscu,
Nina Arbore,
Constantin Brâncuși, Constantin Medrea,
Dimitrie Paciurea, Maria Ciurdea Steurer,
Oscar Han,
Nicolae Tonitza,
Ion Theodorescu-Sion, Friedrich Storck and
Cecilia Cuțescu-Storck, as well as
Abgar Baltazar, Alexandru Brătășanu, Alexandru Poitevin-Skeletti,
George Demetrescu Mirea, Rodica Maniu, and
Marcel Janco. Also in 1908, following Iser's proposal, Bogdan-Pitești sponsored a Bucharest exhibit showcasing works by the renowned European painters
Demetrios Galanis,
Jean-Louis Forain and
André Derain. After 1910, his patronage took on new forms. Literary critic
Șerban Cioculescu notes that, at least initially, his relationship with Mateiu Caragiale included a financial aspect, since Bogdan-Pitești inviting the destitute poet to dinner and provided him with funds. He was also granting lodging and material to various disadvantaged painters, as reported by his close friend Arghezi, Bogdan-Pitești's renewed his attacks on the Orthodox Church.
Paul Cernat sees them as efforts to fabricate a religious alternative to the Orthodox mainstream, included in the larger phenomenon that was Symbolist
cosmopolitanism. However, Galaction, who was to end his life as an Orthodox priest, recorded that the Știrbey-Vodă circle accommodated people of very diverse backgrounds. At one time, they included, alongside Galaction himself, the Roman Catholic priest Carol Auner, the
Protestant sculptor Storck, and the anarchist activist
Panait Mușoiu. According to Cernat, Bogdan-Pitești's bohemian society also grouped people believed associated with the illegal activities, and was noted for its "
libertine" atmosphere. Galaction backed such interpretations, writing that the salon was also home to "a dozen con artists and prostitutes." The atmosphere was colloquial and free-spirited, to the point of being demeaning: story goes that the artists and writers were sometimes told licentious jokes, or had to endure grotesque farces. A
dandy, Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești himself led a life of luxury, marked by excess, and had by then become a
drug addict. He was a proud
homosexual (or
bisexual), which did not prevent him from keeping as his concubine a younger woman, commonly referred to as
Domnica ("Little Lady") or
Mica ("Little One"). Born Alexandra Colanoski, she was born in 1894 to
Romanian Poles from
Bessarabia, and, according to memoirist
Constantin Beldie, had previously been a prostitute at a
nightclub. To other members of the Știrbey-Vodă circle, painter-designer Alexandru Brătășanu was introduced as Bogdan-Pitești's male lover. Theirs was a "degenerate" affair, according to Oscar Han; Han also quotes Bogdan-Pitești's admiration for the male body, including male genitalia, as the only physical beauties which could withstand time.
Cantacuzino Conservative and Seara '', with portraits of candidates in the
1914 election;
Grigore Gheorghe Cantacuzino's is first on the left Around 1912, Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești's political influence was on the rise. He had begun associating with an inner faction of the Conservative Party, which had as its leader
Grigore Gheorghe Cantacuzino, the
Mayor of Bucharest. Afterward, Bogdan-Pitești became the publisher of
Seara, but was reportedly a front for Cantacuzino, who used him to test the impact of his agenda on the Romanian public.
Searas main negative campaign at the time focused on
Take Ionescu and his
Conservative-Democrats, who, to Cantacuzino's displeasure, had been co-opted in government by the other mainstream Conservatives. The paper published gossip columns and lampoons having Ionescu,
Alexandru Bădărău and
Nicolae Titulescu for their main targets. In September 1914, a German consortium purchased the paper (together with Cantacuzino's other gazette,
Minerva), and Bogdan-Pitești was kept on as a simple columnist. Throughout the interval, Bogdan-Pitești was himself an outspoken Germanophile. His circle, which was already hostile to the National Liberal cabinet of
Ion I. C. Brătianu, welcomed the diverse groups who were alarmed by Romania's probable entry into the war: the pro-German Conservatives, the supporters of
proletarian internationalism, and the committed
pacifists. The artistic clientele was also represented in the Germanophile group at large, but, Cernat's writes, did so for sheer dependency rather than actual convictions. Suspicions soon arose that Bogdan-Pitești had become a veritable
agent of influence. According to Zambaccian, it was Bogdan-Pitești who actually dropped a hint that his support for Germany was a lucrative employment. Such assessments, like Caragiale's allegation that Bogdan-Pitești was not knowledgeable in art, reflected conflicts between the two figures, and their overall reliability remains doubtful. It is however possible that Caragiale himself borrowed, and never returned, some 10,000
lei, siphoned out of the German propaganda funds by Bogdan-Pitești.
Libertatea and propaganda wars Between October 1915 and June 1916, Bogdan-Pitești managed another press venue,
Libertatea ("Freedom"). Its political director was retired statesman
Nicolae Fleva, later replaced by Arghezi. In February 1916, Galaction and Arghezi launched
Cronica, another review with a pro-German agenda, and which may itself have been published with discreet assistance from Bogdan-Pitești. Although Bogdan-Pitești, Domnica and Caragiale paid a mysterious visit to
Berlin in early 1916, they were never listed as foreign spies by
Siguranța Statului counter-intelligence. Bogdan-Pitești's name then surfaced in a February 1916 conversation between German statesman
Matthias Erzberger and Raymund Netzhammer, the
Catholic Archbishop of Bucharest. Erzberger asked if the Vlaici landowner could ever help advance the Germanophile cause; the Archbishop, a loyal German subject, replied that Bogdan-Pitești was unreliable. Allegations later surfaced that Bogdan-Pitești was one of the men receiving payoffs from the German spy Albert E. Günther, manager of
Steaua Română company. The dossier attesting this was lost, but secondary sources have it that Bogdan-Pitești alone received 840,000 lei from Günther's hands. The contributors to
Seara and
Libertatea were, in general, outspoken social and cultural critics, with diverse grievances against the establishment. Historian
Lucian Boia argues that, even though Bogdan-Pitești was on the German payroll, his switch from the Francophiles could have been a genuine form of conservatism. Boia thus notes that
Seara was supportive of the Central Powers from the
1914 build-up to the war, that is even before Cantacuzino had come to decide which side he liked best. The core group of
Seara men included socialists of various hues: Arghezi, who claimed that
Serbian nationalism was the spark of the war;
Felix Aderca, who depicted the German Empire as the more
progressive belligerent; and
Rodion, who rendered the complains of Germanophile intellectuals from
Moldavia. Others were left-wing refugees from the
Russian Empire, who wanted Romania to join the Central Powers and help liberate
Bessarabia:
Alexis Nour, from the
Poporanist faction, and the old anarchist
Zamfir Arbore.
Seara was also a platform for some disgruntled Romanians from
Transylvania region, a Romanian
irredenta under Austro-Hungarian rule. They included a mainstream Conservative commentator,
Ilie Bărbulescu, who advised Romanians not to focus on Transylvania, and prioritized action against the Russians. Two distinct voices were those of poet
Dumitru Karnabatt, who identified the
Entente Powers with
Pan-Slavism or
British imperialism; and
Ion Gorun, the Transylvanian writer and
Habsburg loyalist. Beyond politics,
Seara came out with news on culture, selected for publishing by Ion Vinea and poet Jacques G. Costin. The left-wing preoccupations were also an important feature of
Libertatea. Its opening manifesto called for a large-scale social reform, which it claimed was more important to Romanians than any National Liberal project to recover Transylvania from its Austro-Hungarian overlord. It enlisted contributions, generally less political than those at
Seara, from literary figures such as Vinea,
Demostene Botez,
I. Dragoslav,
Adrian Maniu and
I. C. Vissarion. Bogdan-Pitești regularly published his own articles in the two newspapers he directed, signing them with the pseudonym
Al. Dodan. The early texts express his
Russophobia and commiseration over France's alliance with
Tsarist autocracy, the world's "most savage, most ignorant and bloodiest oligarchy".
Wartime, disgrace and death The neutrality years also rekindled controversy over Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești's daily affairs. A scandal erupted in 1913, after banker
Aristide Blank brought Bogdan-Pitești to court on charges of
blackmail. The plaintiff enlisted the services of lawyer
Take Ionescu, and the defendant, represented by Fleva, was ultimately sentenced to a jail term. Throughout the scandal,
Seara hosted articles by Arghezi, professing Bogdan-Pitești's innocence. The Ententist bid resulted in major initial defeats, and a
Romanian theater of war was opened. The country suffered heavily, and Bucharest was taken by the Central Powers. Reputedly, the occupation forces picked up Bogdan-Pitești from his cell at Văcărești, where he was still serving time. He was however a free man as of April 12, 1917, the date of his marriage to Domnica Colanoski. Once Romania recovered possession over its southern areas, Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești was reportedly prosecuted for treason and was again sent to Văcărești. Others however note that this last sentence, passed in 1919, was not in fact related to his wartime dealings, but merely to his fraudulent activities, and that only by coincidence did Bogdan-Pitești share a prison with the convicted
collaborationist journalists (Arghezi, Karnabatt,
Ioan Slavici). T. Vianu notes that Bogdan-Pitești spent his last years "in ignominy", while Cernat describes his definitive fall to the status of "a pariah". The art promoter died four years after the war ended, at his house in Bucharest, having suffered a
myocardial infarction. According to Cernat, his "grotesque" death was sudden, catching him in the middle of a telephone conversation. Reportedly, Bogdan-Pitești's last wish had been for his collection to pass into state property and be kept as a museum. ==Legacy==