#Exhibit of the Month

This remarkable portrait of Mihai Eminescu, created by artist Alexandru Gușanov, is based on one of the four known photographs of the poet. The photograph that inspired this portrait was taken in 1869 in Wenceslas Square, Prague, when Eminescu was only 19 years old. The oval composition and harmonious color palette highlight the prominent personality and charisma of the young poet, capturing an expression that conveys both melancholy and intellectual depth.
Alexandru Gușanov (1929-2005), a Moldovan painter of Ukrainian origin, distinguished himself through his extensive work, comprising approximately 5,000 pieces - portraits, landscapes, and still life paintings. Settled in Moldova since 1945, Gușanov graduated from the Republican Art School "I.E. Repin" in Chișinău in 1952. His works were showcased in numerous national and international exhibitions and were highly appreciated in countries such as France, Hungary, Russia, and Yugoslavia. The artist dedicated a significant part of his career to creating portraits of historical and cultural figures, including Dimitrie Cantemir, Mihail Kogălniceanu, and Alexei Mateevici, which are part of the National Museum of History of Moldova's collection.

The subject of the portrait, Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889), is the most significant poet in Romanian literature, whose works reflect profound thought, sensitivity toward nature, and national identity. At the age of 19, when the photograph that inspired this portrait was taken, Eminescu was in the midst of his intellectual formation, preparing to become the iconic voice of Romanian culture. Among his most famous works is the poem Luceafărul (The Morning Star), a masterpiece of universal literature.

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Exhibitions

„The clock over time”

May 18, 2017 – May 18, 2018

The exhibition is the result of research of the collection of watches from the National Museum of History of Moldova. The 150 watches displayed in the exhibition for the public reveal the evolution of the means of measuring time and of their makers as this activity was a constant concern and passion of man since Antiquity. The most valuable piece in the exhibition is the clock, as a heritage object, remarkable both by the sophisticated technique and the value of the materials used, as well as by the personality of their owners. It is a pioneering exhibition; a large part of the collection of watches (more than two hundred pieces) is being exhibited for the first time. The collection on display consists of various types of watches classified according to the method of operation and use.

The objects in the exhibition are authentic, original, part of them have undergone through restoration and conservation procedure, and therefore some of them are functional. Chronologically, the pieces in the exhibition are dated to the end of the 18th century to the middle of the 20th century.

Typologically, the most attractive are the wall and floor clocks from the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, whose mechanisms are housed in impressive boxes (furniture type), made by well-known watchmakers and companies like Gustav Becker, Junghans, Philip Haas, Le roi à Paris, Lenzkirch, and others. In the ambiance of the museum space are exhibited watches of historical value: the wall clock from the Chisinau Real School (by M. Karcevski), the wall clock from the headquarters of the first working-class club in the city of Balta, the clock at the Railway Station From the town of Tighina (Bender). A special value has the wall clock which belonged to the family of Ivan Şpiller, a well-known watchmaker from Chișinău with Austrian origins, who in the middle of the 19th century had one of the largest and most important clock stores in the city. He was one of the craftsmen who "took care" of the clock on the Arch of Triumph during the years 1842-1849 and 1853-1862.

A very interesting history have also the office and fireplace clocks, followed by pocket watches, originally considered as a men's accessory, later replaced by wristwatches.

A special place in the museum exhibition is held by the watches of memorial value: the watch belonging to Zinaida Radu-Maiorova (1890-?) and Dumitru Remenco (1895-1940), Bessarabians participants in the Great War (1914-1918), the watches of academician Nicolae Dimo (1873-1959), writer Petrea Darienco (1923-1976), well-known archaeologist and museographer Vsevolod Marchevici (1917-1997), musicologist Serafim Buzilă (1937-1998) and others.

The exhibition is complemented by mini-vintage interiors and photographic images.