Concepts distorted by ideologies : a view on m medieval "Romanian" art (1945–1989)

The role of medieval art in national-identity discourse has received too little attention in the historiography of Romania's totalitarian regime of 1945 to 1989. Analyzing the concept of "Romanian art", this paper reveals traces of medieval art history under Soviet ideological pressure and opens the way to further investigation. The article explores the concept used mainly by other authors, including work disseminated by national-scale publishing houses throughout the Communist period and its aftermath. The process uncovers certain efforts to impose the term "Romanian medieval art" on the entire territory of Romania, especially around 1965. Works using the concept "Romanian art" emerge chronologically in their political context, and they include official attitudes and theses related to the culture and historical writing. In addition, documents from a private archive function in the analysis. This way the diverse contributions of some medieval art historians to propagate the historical myths serving the regime's propaganda – such as the myth of the unity of Romanians –, as well as some critical attitudes towards parts of the national ideology become more readily apparent.