Pictura romaneasca de cult in Bihorul secolelor al 18-lea si al 19-lea

„Cartea de fata, Pictura romaneasca de cult in Bihorul secolelor al XVIII-lea si al XIX-lea, prezinta cel putin doua trasaturi fundamentale care merita reliefate. Mai intai, sunt evidentiate, intr‑o lumina intelectuala generoasa, atat determinarile sociale, economice si spirituale din respectiva perioada, cat si modul in care arta religioasa romaneasca a raspuns cu larghetea conceptuala specifica acestora, scotand mereu la suprafata constiinta artistica (inclusiv cea populara) care a tradus vizual aceste nevoi. Mai apoi, volumul se constituie si intr‑o geografie in miscare a felului in care societatea romaneasca din aceasta parte de tara a reusit sa impuna – intr‑un spatiu multicultural, multietnic si multiconfesional – valori si tipologii nationale pana la, cum insusi autorul marturiseste, „coagularea unei societati romanesti care sa isi impuna un punct de vedere”. Acest filon structural national este atent si cu rigoare profesionala prezentat in toate studiile cuprinse in volum. Textele au mesaje care strabat de dincolo de subiectele discutate direct: rolul societatii romanesti in sustinerea artei religioase, pe de o parte, dar si capacitatea lucrarilor de cult de a aglutina o constiinta nationala romaneasca in vremuri nu tocmai prielnice. Aurel Chiriac manifesta aproape o voluptate stiintifica in a regasi socialul in arta si in a evidentia glisarea artei in evolutia societatii. Pictura romaneasca de cult in Bihorul secolelor al XVIII-lea si al XIX-lea se constituie, inca de la aparitie, intr‑o lucrare de referinta pentru perioada si tematica respectiva, atat din punctul de vedere al modului de abordare, cat si prin claritatea ideilor pe care le pune in circulatie.” (din „Cuvant‑inainte”)

"This book, Pictura romaneasca de cult in Bihorul secolelor al XVIII‑lea si al XIX-lea (Romanian cult painting in Bihor in the 18th and 19th centuries) displays at least two fundamental features that are worth being highlighted. Firstly, in a generous intellectual approach, there are presented the social, economic and spiritual parameters of the period as well as the way in which Romanian religious art met the conceptual requirements of the age, foregrounding the artistic awareness (including the communal one) that facilitated the visual translation of these requests. Secondly, the book proves to be a geography in motion revealing the way in which the Romanian population of this part of the country managed to impose – in a multicultural, multiethnic, and multidenominational space – national values and typologies prior to „the consolidation of a Romanian community able to impose a viewpoint”, as the author himself mentions it. This national structural strand is carefully and professionally presented in all the studies included in the volume. The texts carry messages that exceed the boundaries of the topics addressed directly, such as the role of the Romanian community in encouraging and supporting religious art on the one hand and on the other hand, the power of the sacred art to forge a Romanian national consciousness in times not exactly favorable." (from the "Foreword”)