Vânzători de covrigi în uniformă în faţa Arcului de
Triumf
Pretzel vendors in uniform in front of the
Triumph Arch
The
first version of the monument placed at the end of
the Kiseleff Road was made by the architect Petre
Antonescu during the period 1921-1922 with the
occasion of the celebration surrounding King
Ferdinand’s coronation. Built on a structure of
reinforced concrete and brick, decorated with
plaster sculptures, the monument felt into decay, a
fact that lead to restart the works, under
supervision of the same Petre Antonescu, in 1935.
The construction will be finished a year later and
was opened on December the 1st in the
presence of King Charles the 2nd. The
facades of the edifice were decorated with
inscriptions marking a some important years in the
history of Romania and with allegorical bas-reliefs.
The effigies of King Ferdinand and Queen Mary were
erased from the monument in the years 1948-1949, and
were replaced with floral rosettes. The monument was
restored in the winter of 1981-1982.
Ironically, the central
element in Ionescu’s picture – indicated by the
title - is nevertheless the human presence: pretzel
vendors. The Triumphal Arch is integrated in the
pretzel vendor’s world. The two men wear uniforms,
not because they need to ( Ionescu’s photos prove
that their attitude and aspect varies according to
the exhibiting areas: there are pretzel salesmen who
sleep inside the market place), but in order to
belong to their majestic environment. The spectator
can’t refrain a little smile: in this photograph the
fair competes with history and wins.
