George Oprescu

George Oprescu (27 November 1881 – 13 August 1969) was a Romanian historian, art critic and collector. Born into a poor family, he developed a taste for the fine arts early in life, as well as for the French language, which he taught into his forties. Subsequently working for the League of Nations, he turned his attention to art history, becoming a professor in the field at the University of Bucharest in 1931. Also a museum curator and magazine editor, in 1949 he established the Institute of Art History, which he led for two decades until his death. His substantial private collection is now in the hands of various institutions, while his written body of work helped lay the foundation for art history to become a serious discipline in his country.

Born in Câmpulung, he was raised in a poor household and was marked by his mother's early death. Receiving support from several individuals and earning top marks during primary school, he went to the national capital Bucharest to attend Matei Basarab High School, living with the family of his classmate Constantin Ionescu-Mihăești. He developed an artistic sensibility in these surroundings, rich with objets d'art, paintings, books and valuable furniture. Additionally, he cultivated a love of the French language, which permitted him to read numerous classic works in the original. His favorite teachers were the journalist and historian Gheorghe Ionescu-Gion, who taught history and French; and the folklorist, literary historian and journalist G. Dem. Teodorescu (Romanian language and literature). In the summer of 1900, together with other scholarship boys, he took a study trip to Greece under the supervision of . That autumn, following Ionnescu-Gion's proposal, he was named a teacher at Matei Basarab, which allowed him to finance his studies at the Literature and Philosophy Faculty of the University of Bucharest. It was during the following years that he deepened his appreciation for art, guided by Ioan Cantacuzino, a devoted collector of engravings.

Upon graduation in 1905, he became a French language and literature teacher in Giurgiu. In 1907, he transferred to Traian High School in Turnu Severin, remaining there until 1920, including a stint as principal. Among his pupils was the future literary critic Șerban Cioculescu, who recalled him as a stern disciplinarian. During summer holidays, alone or with students and teachers, he would travel to art museums in Austria, Germany, Italy and France. He declared his support for the 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt, and in January 1917, during World War I, after he had condemned the German occupation authorities, he was among sixty intellectuals and bureaucrats who were arrested in Turnu Severin. Afterwards, Oprescu was sent to Bulgaria, where he was interned in a camp before being freed several months later. Subsequently, he became an associate professor at the University of Cluj, which was located in a region that had come under Romanian jurisdiction with the union of Transylvania with Romania. At Cluj, he continued to teach French language and literature, also establishing and leading an art history seminar. While attending specialized courses in France, he became close friends with Henri Focillon, whose biography he later wrote, and whose letters to Oprescu were published posthumously.

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