The Interim General Director of the National Museum of Art of Romania (MNAR), critic Erwin Kessler says the famous art work 'La Blouse Roumaine' by Henri Matisse, which will go on display from 21 November at the MNAR, 'iconic for modernity' is the most expensive work ever exhibited in Romania.

' 'La Blouse Roumaine' by Matisse is a crucial work, iconic for modernity. At this moment, as we exhibit it, it is the most expensive work ever exhibited in Romania. It is the piece that, in relation to the exhibition we have designed, serves as a counterpoint. The entire exhibition focuses on ideological functioning, as an ethnic legitimization of Romanian identity, through the depiction of figures dressed in the ie [Romanian traditional blouse] and traditional Romanian costume,' Kessler told AGERPRES on Friday.

He added that, 'unlike these, which from the 19th century to the present constitute one of the most important themes in all Romanian art, Matisse, in his series of around 25 works related to 'La Blouse Roumaine', of the ie, always used a model who was not Romanian.'

'Matisse depicted 'La Blouse Roumaine' on his models, and the famous 'La Blouse Roumaine' from the Pompidou, which we will exhibit, was most likely worn at the time it was photographed by Lydia Delectorskaya, his model, who was Russian. This is very important because in this way he separated the Romanian ie from Romanian ideology. And thus, he propelled it into the universal. Matisse achieved what hundreds of years of Romanian ideological effort did not: to universalize, on decorative, let's say even commercial grounds, this ensign, practically the emblem of Romanian ideology,' the critic added.

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The National Museum of Art of Romania will present, from 21 November 2025 to 8 February 2026, the landmark exhibition called 'RomanIA - the identity representation of folk costume in art,' an event held under the High Patronage of the President of Romania, with the museum's interim director Erwin Kessler as curator.

The exhibition offers a vivid panorama of the artistic adventures of the ie in various media, from painting and sculpture to graphics, photography, objects, installation, film, music, posters, fashion, stamps, playing cards, vases, banknotes, books, albums, cartoons and school textbooks, the selection highlighting, according to the MNAR, the manner in which a formal, symbolic, decorative and at the same time ideological language has been articulated over the centuries, in which the ie and traditional costume have played a central role in social cohesion, political promotion and, at times, the visual assertion of Romanian identity.

The famous art piece 'La Blouse Roumaine' by Henri Matisse will serve in the exhibition as an inverted mirror reflecting the consistent effort to promote and propagate the Romanian national identity through the ie, transposed by Matisse into a purely aesthetic plane, with a major impact on the development of post-war art and a decisive contribution to the emergence of Pop Art strategies.

The selected pieces come from the MNAR's collection, Romanian artists and collectors, as well as from 30 partner museums and institutions.

The curatorial team is made up of Judit Balint, Malina Contu, Alina Petrescu, Emanuela Cernea and Costina Anghel.

The landmark exhibition 'RomanIA - the identity representation of folk costume in art' is organised in partnership with the Amzei Foundation. AGERPRES(RO - writing by: Daniel Popescu; EN - writing by: Rodica State)