Oscar Han

Oscar Han (3 December 1891 – 14 February 1976) was a Romanian sculptor and writer.

Biography Han was born in Bucharest on 3 December 1891 to a father of German origin and a mother from Vrancea.

From 1909 to 1914, he studied sculpture and drawing at the Academy of Arts in Bucharest (now the National University of Arts) under Dimitrie Paciurea and Frederick Storck. He made his debut in 1911 with the sculpture "Bust of a Girl". Later, Han would return to his alma mater as a professor of sculpture, a post he occupied from 1927 to 1944, and again in 1956.

After the Second World War, Han was briefly barred from working due to accusations of sympathy towards the Iron Guard (an accusation possibly exacerbated by a bust he sculpted in 1928 of Iron Guard philosopher Nae Ionescu). However, Han was quickly rehabilitated, and was awarded a number of distinctions by the new communist regime, including the titles "Master Emeritus of Art" (1961), "First Class Order of Labour" (1971), and "Star of the Socialist Republic of Romania" (1972).

Works Han is mainly known for his statues and busts of Romanian historical figures. His portraits include the Monument to Ferdinand I in Chișinău (now in the Republic of Moldova), several busts of famous authors in Bucharest's Herăstrău Park (including William Shakespeare and Alexandru Vlahuță), the monuments to Mihai Eminescu in Cluj-Napoca, Constanța, and Oradea, the statue of Anghel Saligny in Constanța, the monument to Mircea the Elder in Turnu Măgurele, and the monument to Michael the Brave in Alba Iulia.

His works were exhibited mainly in Bucharest, but also at Romanian art exhibitions and international exhibitions in other European cities.