Georges Dumitresco

Georges Dumitresco (18 March 1922–21 October 2008) was a Romanian-Swiss physician by profession but also a painter, illustrator and poet.

Born in Bucharest, Romania, on 18 March 1922, son of Victor Dumitrescu and Alexandrina Lebădă-Ottulescu, the great-grandson of the painter iconographer Albert Mauerhamer and nephew of Ștefan Dimitrescu, the head of the Fine Arts Academy of the city of Iași, Romania.

After completing his professional and artistic studies in Romania and practicing medicine, he fled on 13 September 1969 from his homeland and settled in Switzerland with his wife Isabella Simionescu (theater actor). After settling in Switzerland, Georges Dumitresco lived in several locations, including Sion, Yverdon-les-Bains, and Lausanne.

Biography Early life, Romania (1922–1969)

Born and spent his childhood in his parental home at 80 Gala Galaction street, not far from the center of Bucharest. His father Victor Dumitresco was an economist and his mother Alexandrina (born Lebădă-Ottulescu) was a nurse and the vice president of the Red Cross in Bucharest.

Through his early school years, George Dumitresco won several national art contests. At the age of 10, was awarded Bucharest's Great National Prize, for his painting. At his young age, he also experimented with wood engraving.

Studied Medicine and graduated in 1947 as Doctor of Medicine with his thesis obtaining a great distinction (Magna cum Laude). He further specialised as surgeon while he studied art in the evenings (1954–1956), at the Popular Art school of Bucharest.

In 1955, he was a founder of the "Circle of Doctors Artists - Ion Țuculescu", a forum for doctors to exhibit their art.

In 1956, Dumitresco was arrested by the Romanian Securitate for alleged "conspiracy against national security".

Freed from jail, Georges Dumitresco pursued art studies while continuing to practice medicine, in Bucharest. In 1959, he was named Chief of Bucharest Hospitals Clinics and in 1966 he obtained a Diploma at the Popular School of Art of Romania. This permit essentially served as the expatriation right, allowing the artist and his wife to leave the country.

Life in Switzerland (1969–2008)

On September 13, 1969, Georges Dumitresco left Romania and settled in Switzerland. He initially practiced medicine in Valais before moving to Yverdon, where he worked as a doctor for the Paillard company. He later established a private medical practice in Vallorbe at the invitation of the local council.

A medical doctor and an artist, Georges Dumitresco contributed articles on health topics to the daily newspaper Le Nouvelliste and also illustrated the paper and its articles.

While living abroad, Georges Dumitresco continued to promote Romanian culture and tradition. He founded the "Jura Artistique" organization in Vallorbe in 1978.

Over the course of his artistic career, Georges Dumitresco was a regular participant in twenty annual exhibitions and held solo exhibitions in both Switzerland and Romania. His art was also displayed in collective exhibitions in several countries, including France, Italy,

Art

Painting and illustrations

A versatile artist, Georges Dumitresco utilized a diverse range of techniques, such as oil, watercolour, ink, monotype, acrylic, drypoint (pointe sèche), linocut, tapestry, and stained glass (vitrail). He is also known for creating a personal artistic style he called "xeropictogramme." Luceafărul, Literatorul and România Liberă.

During his February–March 1999 exhibition in Paris, art critic Jean-Louis Avril wrote about Georges Dumitresco's technical range in the magazine Univers des Arts:

According to Romanian poet Geo Vasile, Georges Dumitresco wrote with equal skill in French and Romanian and his book is "a book about a life of resistance through remembrance and confession, of constant revisiting of classical models, certainties of spiritual endurance, Romanian civilization and authenticity".

In a November 1999 article titled "Une Alchemie du beau" in a supplement to the Swiss magazine ph+arts, writer Maurice Métral described Dumitresco as an "extraordinary" artist, calling him a "poet of beauty, serenity, and all matters of the human soul." Métral also praised Dumitresco as a "brilliant painter of faith in humanity and nature, in the omnipresence of God."

Recognition

The art of Georges Dumitresco was honored by both the Romanian Post and the Swiss Post, which issued special editions of postcards and postal envelopes featuring his paintings. According to the Memoria publication: as a recognition of his literary merits, the Society Doctors Writers and Publicists from Romania established the "Georges Dumitresco Award".