#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.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

„War and Humanitarian Action: the Lessons of History”

From the International Committee of the Red Cross Photo Archives, the TASS News Agency, the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia, and The National Museum of History of Moldova

14 September 2017 – 28 January 2018

The National Museum of History of Moldova and the Interregional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Moscow (for the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Moldova) are organizing the exhibition "War and Humanitarian Action: the Lessons of History" from 14 September to 14 October 2017.

The exhibition reflects the special work carried out by the International Committee of the Red Cross to help those in distress from the beginning to World War Two. Those over 50 photographic images taken from the archives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the TASS news agency, the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia and the National Museum of History of Moldova, are documentary testimonies of tragic moments that marked the history of the 19th and 20th centuries: Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Hispanic-American War of 1898, World War One, Greek-Turkish War of 1919-1922, World War Two. The photographs included in the exhibition show not only the cruelty, the brutality, the pain and the suffering - parts inherent to any war - but, in particular, examples of authentic humanitarian, condescending, compassionate and sacrificial actions shown by the staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Russian and Soviet Red Cross, the Red Cross in Bessarabia, the volunteers of the entire Red Cross Movement to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable people.

The central idea of the exhibition is that the criminal code of war often left the place for the human code during military conflicts. Beyond hate, violence and death, many testimonies make us discover that it always existed to a greater or lesser extent compassion, help, mercy, and pacifism.

The opening of the exhibition took place on September 14, 2017, at 15:00, on the ground floor of the National Museum of History of Moldova.