19
March 1827 – The religious painter and pedagogue MIȘU POPP was born in
Brașov. Studies at Brașov and Târgu Secuiesc, then at the Academy of
Arts in Vienna. In 1849, he settled in Bucharest, where he painted
several churches together with Constantin Lecca and Barbu Stănescu (“Old
Court”, “Saint George the New”, “Răzvan Vodă”, “Radu Vodă”, chapel of
Bellu cemetery). He painted the church of “Saints Voievodes” or princely
church in Târgu Jiu, the church of “Saint Nicholas” in Câmpulung and
the church monastery of Frăsinei, founded by Bishop Calinic the Saint,
all by himself. Back in Brașov, he was a professor of the Orthodox
Gymnasium for a while and painted several churches in the area: “The
Holy Trinity” and “The Falling Asleep” in Satulung (67 scenes in
tempera, many of them inspired by or copied after Western sources), the
altar screens of the churches in Cernat, Râșnoc, Țânțari (Dumnbrăvița
today), Araci, as well as four icons on the temple of the church in
Toderița-Făgăraș. He also painted many portraits: Michael the Brave,
Gheorghe Lazăr, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Vasile Alecsandri, Mihail
Kogălniceanu, C.A. Rosetti, Andrei Mureșanu; paintings of Bible and
mythological inspiration, landscapes. He passed away in 1892, in Brașov
too.
