Artmark: Last photography of poet Mihai Eminescu put up for auction

An impressive collection of photographs will be put up for auction next Tuesday, by Artmark.

According to Artmark, the last photo of the national poet, one of the four known and certified photographs of Mihai Eminescu, which was taken by photographer Jean Bielig in 1887, will be put up for sale. Until this date, the known photos of the poet were taken when he was 20 years old, in 1869, in Prague; nine years later, when he was 29 years old, a second photo of him was cut from a group photo of the "Junimea" Literary Circle, and another one was taken in a photo shop in Iasi, in 1884. The piece to be put up for auction is the last in the series of four photographs, and it was taken when the poet was 37 years old. Its starting price will be 800 euros.

Another unique piece is a photo of Queen Maria, who is shown alongside her daughter, Princess Marioara. The photo was taken in 1907 in Cotroceni, and bears the holographic signature of the Queen, with its frame decorated in the neo-Brancoveanu style. It has a starting price of 500 euros.

Emil Cioran is also captured in two vintage photographs taken by Louis Monier in 1977, in Paris, and alongside Eugen Ionescu and Mircea Eliade, in Furstenberg Square, near the Eugene Delacroix Museum.

Another vintage photo captures one of Nicolae Ceausescu's favourite activities - hunting. It is put up for sale with a starting price of 50 euros. Ceausescu is shown during the hunt, alongside George Macovescu and other senior officials, in the winter of 1970. The piece comes from the collection of former Foreign Minister George Macovescu.

Along with the vintage photos, contemporary photos are also put up for auction, in which personalities such as artist Andrei Cadere, painter Corneliu Baba, tennis player Ilie Nastase, singer John Lennon, actors Steven Seagal, Jennifer Aniston and Demita Moore, are captured.

The auction also includes three photos put up for sale for charity. The pieces are made by photographer Dan Dinu - "Lynx," "Mountain Rooster" and "Fagaras Mountains" - and have a starting price of 300 euros each. The funds collected from the sale of the three photos will be directed to the Wild Romania Association in order to continue the photography and documentary film project dedicated to nature in our country, being also the largest film about the flora and fauna of Romania.

Rare books, historical documents or old maps are also put up for auction at Tuesday's event.

An exceptional document is the Programme of the Liberal Group supporting the Ion Bratianu Government - the first Liberal government in the history of Romania. The collection piece, with a starting price of 500 euros, is accompanied by the minutes of the election of the committee and bears the signatures of the members, including Dimitrie Ion Ghica, Alexandru Candiano-Popescu, Em. Philippides and date - July 26, 1876.

It completes the exceptional photos and a luxury bibliophile copy signed by Alexandre Dumas - the son, one of the most appreciated French playwrights. "Denise" was written in Paris in 1885 and has a starting price of 500 euros. The number 20 copy of the deluxe edition of only 40 copies printed on Japanese paper bears the dedication and handwritten signature of the author.

Photographs, rare books and historical documents are on display until Tuesday at the Cesianu-Racovita Palace.