Early life Bassarab was born in
Bacău, where he graduated high school. Likely a student of
Ion Theodorescu-Sion's at the
National School of Fine Arts, in subsequent years he attended both the Law Faculty of the
University of Bucharest at the private art school run by Constantin Vlădescu, where his teachers included
Nicolae Tonitza,
Francisc Șirato and
Petre Iorgulescu-Yor. Bassarab debuted as a painter—in May 1931, he a still-life of his was exhibited at the Official Salon in
Bucharest. As noted by fellow artist
Mac Constantinescu, it was "sensibly treated in a palette that is both somber and distinguished." He was becoming a specialist in the linocut technique, also praised for his work in woodcut. He continued to exhibit canvasses at various venues but, as noted at the time by art critic
Alexandru D. Broșteanu, these were "timid", far less "rounded" than his woodcuts. The same was argued by
Petru Comarnescu, who suggests that Bassarab "never fully mastered the interplay of colors". Bassarab joined the
Iron Guard, a native fascist movement, in 1932, and, as an aspiring propagandist, helped set up its artistic club, named after
Ștefan Luchian, and its
Ideea României Lodge. From October 1934, with Stamatu, Zlotescu, Ciucurencu,
Ioan Victor Vojen,
Dan Botta, and
Radu Gyr, Bassarab was also active in the art collective
Arta și Omul. Founded as an apolitical enterprise by Tonitza, it had been taken over by Guardist intellectuals, expressing its rejection of
liberal democracy and its embrace of
corporatism. In parallel, Bassarab's apolitical works were featured at the Official Salons. Although he failed to win prizes there, in 1934 and 1935 the Romanian state purchased a number of his engravings. In early 1936, his portraits and cityscapes in various mediums were featured as a personal art show at Mozart Gallery. Columnist Alexandru Balteș was impressed by his achievements, and especially by his use of contours, "concise, somber and expressive". He declared Bassarab a "bard of the Bucharest
mahala". His colleague N. I. Lazăr contrarily noted that Bassarab's "Bucharest views" were less accomplished than his other work. Overall, Lazăr rated Bassarab as "still a beginner." Alongside Stamatu, Bassarab worked on an edition of
François Villon's ballads: Stamatu translated them, and Bassarab designed the lettering. Although the work was never printed in book form, it circulated as a rough copy among the intellectuals of Bucharest.
Mihail Polihroniade used his engravings for his propaganda work,
Tabăra de muncă, which came out at
Universul publishers in 1936. As a contributor to
Ideea Românească review, in June 1937 Bassarab co-authored (with Stamatu, Zlotescu, and
Pavel Costin Deleanu), the manifesto
Revoluția așezării românești ("A Revolution in Romanian Settlement"). It declared the bankruptcy of
modernist architecture as a staple of localized "internationalism", advocating instead for updating traditional Romanian forms. According to historian Roland Clark, Bassarab and Zlotescu endure as "[the Guard's] best painters", both of them being guided by Theodorescu-Sion's neotraditionalism; all three were indebted to
Romanian folklore, depicting peasants as "active, heroic figures", "dynamic, virile, determined". Their art, seen by far-right chroniclers as a "purely Romanian" enterprise, was prominently displayed at the Guard's Bucharest offices,
Casa Verde, during a September 1937 exhibit. He was only featured there with his woodcuts, including
Arhanghelul ("The Archangel") and a series of depictions of the Guard's main leaders. Stamatu also recalls a "magnificent exhibit" of his group, held at
Sala Dalles "in autumn 1937". Bassarab had by then joined the Guard's new legal avatar, called "Everything for the Country Party" (TPȚ), and was serving as its regional president in
Ialomița County—also holding a Guard rank as
Comandant Ajutor ("Assistant Commander"). He himself ran on the TPȚ county lists in the
December 1937 election. According to Polihroniade's retelling of the campaign, Bassarab was able to outsmart rival politicians, in particular those of the
National Christian Party, ensuring that the results were properly tabulated. As a result, "the Guardist list took first place in Ialomița." On December 4, he returned to his native city, where Guard leader
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu was inaugurating a Christian-only consumers' co-operative, specifically boycotting
Romanian Jewish merchants. On December 15, Bassarab, Deleanu and
Mircea Eliade were in
Țăndărei for the funeral of Ion Târcolea, who had been killed during the electoral showdown. On February 15, Bassarab married schoolteacher Elena Cantaragiu at a church in
Bucureștii Noi, in front of an audience which included C. Z. and I. Z. Codreanu, alongside Eliade, Polihroniade,
Haig Acterian, and
Constantin Gane.
Political rise, downfall, and death In February 1940, Bassarab joined Zlotescu and Valentin Hoeflich for another exhibit at Sala Dalles. Columnist Ion Zurescu noted his "daring" approach, and his growing similarities with
primitive art. The clash between Carol and the Guardist leadership had by then escalated into an armed conflict. On March 17, 1940, Bassarab, like Gyr,
Radu Meitani and
Ștefan Palaghiță, signed up to a letter which affirmed their loyalty to the throne, describing themselves as
legionarii de ieri ("former Guardists"). In that context, Bassarab exhibited with the collective known as
Grupul Grafic, alongside
Marcel Olinescu. Their work was apolitical, heavily inspired by
Byzantine art—within that context, Bassarab remained the more
naturalistic, preserving elements of
perspective. Founders of
Grupul Grafic also included
Aurel Mărculescu, who was both Jewish and an anti-fascist. In September 1940, Carol abdicated and the Guard took over, establishing a "
National Legionary State"; Bassarab, Olinescu, and
Gheorghe Ceglokoff reformed
Grupul Grafic, which was now openly associated with the Guard, and exhibited at Sala Dalles. Bassarab now showcased work that was highly political, including portraits of folk heroes such as
Horia alongside Guard commanders such as C. Z. Codreanu,
Ion Moța and
Gheorghe Clime.
Ion Frunzetti, a Guard supporter and art critic, praised him as "the chronicler of a destiny", with "a certain
Thracian toughness". On November 11, the
Ministry of Arts took control over the
Artists' Guild, and assigned its new leadership—with Bassarab,
Oscar Han and
Marius Bunescu among the new directors. Appointed to other high positions in the field of propaganda, Bassarab stirred controversy by suggesting that artists should abandon
easel painting in favor of "epic"
muralism. During that interval, the Guard accorded its assassinated and exhumed founder, Codreanu, a lavish second funeral. The ceremony was held at
Sfântul Ilie Gorgani Church in Bucharest, and the entrance to the church was flanked by two giant posters of archangels, massively enlarged versions of
line engravings drawn by Bassarab in 1935. These closely resemble
Nașterea ("Birth"), another drawing by Bassarab. There, the Guard's patron, the
Archangel Michael, watches over an infant at his feet. Above, a legend gives Codreanu's birthdate, giving the image a religious and propagandistic impact. Another drawing of his draws upon folklore to place Codreanu in the context of the
Miorița legend. In December 1940, Bassarab organized an exhibit,
Munca legionară ("Legionary Labor"), also at Sala Dalles, which represented a fusion of art with Guardist ideology. It was attended by
Traian Brăileanu, the Arts Minister, and Guard Commander
Horia Sima. The same venue was also hosting the
Ajutorul Legionar charity bazaar, organized by Codreanu's widow. Participants included
Maria Antonescu, wife of
Conducător Ion Antonescu, as well as Alexandru and Elena Bassarab. Also in December 1940, Brăileanu's own journal,
Însemnări Sociologice, put out Bassarab's article,
Viața legionară, isvor de creație ("Guardist Life as a Source of Inspiration"). On January 13, 1941, he was a government representative for another ceremony, held at
Casa Verde in memory of Moța, Codreanu and other Guardist figures. Days after, the Guard
fell from power, and Bassarab was arrested on orders from
Conducător Antonescu. The most likely version is that he was captured and shot at Țiganca, in retaliation for the Romanians' treatment of Soviet prisoners. An obituary by Comarnescu saw print in
Revista Fundațiilor Regale, praising Bassarab as the "laborer-artist" who, in dying, lived up to his "heroic perspective on art": "it was given to him that he should accomplish more as a Romanian soldier than as an artist, his very sound debut notwithstanding." His father's work was again explored after the
Romanian Revolution of 1989. In 1999, Petre Oprea republished art chronicles by Bassarab, Stamatu and Zlotescu, noting that their aesthetic hierarchies were often confirmed by posterity. ==Selected works==