Elena Pătrășcanu
Elena Pătrășcanu
Biography
Elena Pătrășcanu, born Hertha Schwamen, (she/her) visual artist, (b. 1914, Czernowitz, Duchy of Bukovina, Austria-Hungary, d. 2000, Bucharest, Romania) of Jewish ethnical background, has lived in Romania and Austria. She was a Romanian stage designer, co-founder of the Țăndărică Puppet Theatre, and a former political prisoner during the communist period. She was the wife of communist leader Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, whose arrest and execution deeply influenced the trajectory of her own life. Later, Elena Pătrășcanu became active within the cultural and propaganda structures of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR).[1]
Arrest under communist regime
On 28 April 1948, shortly after the arrest of her husband, Elena Pătrășcanu was detained and accused of “complicity in the destruction of the Romanian Communist Party and the country.” During the investigation she was subjected to intense physical and psychological pressure, as well as torture. She was sentenced in April 1954 to 14 years of forced labor, five years of civic degradation, and the confiscation of all personal property. She was released in March 1956 under a decree of amnesty, at which time she was officially informed of her husband's death in prison. After her release, she remarried. Her second husband was the Greek communist theatre director Yannis Veakis, a political refugee in Romania, taking the name Elena Pătrășcanu Veakis.
Artistic disciplines:
Artistic practice
Elena Pătrășcanu is one of the founders of the first puppet theater, the Ţăndărică Theater in Bucharest, which she took care of until her arrest. She made numerous drawings and sketches for puppets.
Notable themes
Trained as an architect-scenographer, she focused her work on drawings and sketches for puppets.
Works in collections and public recognition
Scarce information.
Selected exhibitions
Scarce information.
Press
- Artist page on Modernism.com, research carried out by Cosmin Nasui on artists arrested under communist regime in Romania[[2]
Gallery Representation
- None currently known.
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Hashtags
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