David Aurel

Soviet Moldovan painter, sculptor and graphic artist. People’s Artist of Moldova. Member of the USSR Academy of Arts. David Aurel was born on June 18, 1935 in Chisinau. One of the sources of his boundless inspiration was the village of Bardar in the Ialoveni district. Aurel David lived here with his grandmother after the death of both parents. He was educated at the Moscow Art Institute. V. Surikov, then returned to Chisinau. He graduated from the Republican Art College in Chisinau (1954) and the State Art Institute. V. Surikov in Moscow (1960). Member of the Union of Artists of Moldova since 1964. Between 1961 and 1969 he worked as an expert in the “Fine Arts” section of the Ministry of Culture of Moldova. I wrote a lot in different genres and techniques, I was not afraid to experiment in painting. Aurel David is the author of the famous work of the Tree of Eminescu, replicated in millions of copies: on posters, calendars, embroideries, medals, badges, becoming one of the most famous and highly valued works of fine art in the world. During his time, Aurel David showed himself in various genres of art, painting and graphics, arts and crafts and sculpture. The first graphic and pictorial works exhibits in the framework of collective exhibitions in Chisinau, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Vilnius and Minsk (1960-1980). Personal exhibitions of the artist were held in Chisinau in 1994 and 2004. Simultaneously with painting and graphics he worked in the field of monumental art, being the author of a mosaic on the facade of the Republican Youth Center (1971). One of the brightest works of the master is the painting “Noon” (1964). Of all the sculptural projects of the artist, only the “Monument to the Victims of War” was realized (Chisinau, Kalya Orheiului Street, 1978). He died on July 18, 1984 in Chisinau. He was posthumously awarded the State Prize of Moldova (1990). The works of Aurel David are kept in the collections of the National Art Museum of Moldova, the National Museum of History of Moldova, the Museum of Romanian Literature. Mikhail Kogalniceanu, the Pushkin House-Museum, Constantine Brynkush, Art Gallery in Tigin. In 1990 he was posthumously awarded the State Prize for outstanding achievements in the field of fine arts.

Photo 1: Exhibition of the memory of artist Aurel David at the National Art Museum of Moldova dedicated to the 80th anniversary of his birth.                Photo 2: Anniversary mark “David Aurel” 75 years from the date of birth.                             Photo 3.4: Aurel David, (1934-1984) Grapes collection. 1959 The National Art Museum of Moldova.