Romania 100000 Lei banknote 2001
National Bank of Romania - Banca Națională a României
Observe: Portrait of painter Nicolae Grigorescu (1838-1907); A Hollyhock flower (Althea officinalis); A paintbrush and a palette; The Coat of Arms of Romania; Name of the issuing bank; The BNR logo; Banknote denomination in digits and in words; Authorized signatures of the Governor and Chief Cashier.
Reverse: A typical house from the Oltenia region; A fragment of Grigorescu's Rodica; Banknote denomination in digits and in words; Name of the issuing bank; The BNR logo in the upper right and lower left corners; Legal provisions against counterfeiting: Printing and circulation of forged banknotes are punishable under law; Serial number - printed in black ink, vertically, on the left side; printed in red ink, horizontally, on the right side.
Romanian Lei banknotes
1999 "Solar Eclipse" Commemorative Issue
2000-2004 "Polymer" Issue
10000 Lei 50000 Lei 100000 Lei 500000 Lei 1000000 Lei
Nicolae Grigorescu (May 15, 1838 – July 21, 1907) was one of the founders of modern Romanian painting.
He was also a writer. He was born in Pitaru, Dâmboviţa County, Wallachia. In 1843 the family moved to Bucharest. At a young age (between 1846 and 1850), he became an apprentice at the workshop of the painter Anton Chladek and created icons for the church of Băicoi and the monastery of Căldăruşani. In 1856 he created the historical composition Mihai scăpând stindardul (Michael the Brave saving the flag), which he presented to the Wallachian Prince Barbu Ştirbei, together with a petition asking for financial aid for his studies.
Between 1856 and 1857, he painted the church of the Zamfira monastery, Prahova County, and in 1861 the church of the Agapia monastery. With the help of Mihail Kogălniceanu, he received a scholarship to study in France.
In the autumn of 1861, young Grigorescu left for Paris, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts. He also attended the workshop of Sébastien Cornu, where he had as a colleague Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Knowing his weaknesses, he concentrated drawing and composition. However, he soon left this workshop and, attracted by the artistic concepts of the Barbizon school, he left Paris for that village, where he became the associate of artists such as Jean-François Millet, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet and Théodore Rousseau. Under the influence of the movement, Grigorescu looked for new means of expression and followed the trend of en plein air painting, which was also important in Impressionism. As part of the Universal Exposition of Paris (1867), he contributed seven works. Then he exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1868 the painting Tânără ţigancă (Young Gypsy girl).
He returned to Romania a few times and starting in 1870 he participated in the exhibits of living artists and those organized by the Society of the Friends of the Belle-Arts. Between 1873 and 1874 he traveled to Italy, Greece and Vienna.
In 1877 he was called to accompany the Romanian Army as a "frontline painter" in the Romanian War of Independence. During the battles at the Grivitsa Strongpoint and Oryahovo, he made drawings and sketches which later used in creating larger-scale works.
In 1889 his work was featured in the Universal Exhibition in Paris and at the Romanian Atheneum. Centerpiece exhibits took place at the Romanian Atheneum would follow in 1891, 1895, 1897, 1902, and 1905.
From 1879 to 1890 he worked in France, especially in Vitré, Brittany, and in his workshop in Paris. In 1890 he settled in Câmpina and started depicting pastoral themes, especially portraits of peasant girls, pictures of ox carts on dusty country roads and other landscapes. He was named honorary member of the Romanian Academy in 1899.
At the moment of his death, Grigorescu had been working on his Întoarcerea de la bâlci (The Return from the Fair).
Althaea
Althaea is a genus of 6–12 species of perennial herbs native to Europe and western Asia. It includes Althaea officinalis, also known as the marshmallow plant, whence the fluffy confection got its name. They are found on the banks of rivers and in salt marshes, preferring moist, sandy soils. The stems grow to 1–2 m tall, and flower in mid summer. The leaves are palmately lobed with 3–7 lobes. Althaea species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Bucculatrix quadrigemina.
The genus formerly included a number of additional species now treated in the genus Alcea (Hollyhocks).
The root contains starch (37%), mucilage (11%), pectin (11%), flavonoids, phenolic acids, sucrose, and asparagine.
The traditional medicinal uses of the plant are reflected in the name of the genus, which comes from the Greek althainein, meaning "to heal".
The flowers and young leaves can be eaten, and are often added to salads or are boiled and fried. The roots and stem also secrete mucilage, which is used to soften the skin, and is used in cosmetic treatments.
The Roman poet Horace refers to his own diet in his Odes, which he describes as very simple: "As for me, olives, endives, and smooth mallows provide sustenance."
The root has been used since Egyptian antiquity in a honey-sweetened confection useful in the treatment of sore throat. The later French version of the recipe, called pâte de guimauve (or "guimauve" for short), included an eggwhite meringue and was often flavored with rose water. Pâte de guimauve more closely resembles contemporary commercially available marshmallows, which no longer contain any actual marshmallow.