Dumitru Pavelescu-Dimo Romanian, 1870-1944

"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Dimo was the most prolific Romanian sculptor of his generation. He was born in 1870 in Calafat, a relative of the great Romanian painter, Theodor Aman.  After studying at the National School of Art under Ion Georgescu from 1894-1898 he moved to Florence, where he set up his studio.

Dimo was in the fortunate position of being born into a newly independent country which needed to celebrate its identity in a display of architectural and artistic patronage.  Romania needed a sculptor like Dimo to bring to fruition a series of monumental projects to trumpet its legitimacy. Dimo fulfilled this role producing a remarkable array of monuments, notably that to Trajan in Braila and the monument to Mihai Viteazu. The Trajan monument was unveiled in 1906 to coincide with the joint anniversary of Dacia becoming a Roman province and to mark 40 years of King Carol I's reign.

In his next commission, the national monument to commemorate the union of the Moldavian and Wallachian provinces, Dimo was the finalist with the famous Italian sculptor Raffaello Romanelli, with whom the work was partly shared. International recognition followed, with a Gold Medal at the Exposition of 1906. In 1915 he held his first retrospective, including busts, drawings and models, including one to Vlad Tepes, better known as Dracula.  The exhibition included a sculpture entitled Amazon woman which can probably be identified with the present lot.

Unfortunately much of Dimo's work was destroyed. Firstly the Germans in 1916-18, then the Russians in 1944-47 and finally the Communist regime. 
RELATED LITERATURE
Bartlett (1925)