Journal Analele Banatului N.S. Archaeology-History

Liana Flutur

Marius Cornea

Arhiva Virgil Birou (1903–1968) – sursă documentară pentru istoria culturii din Banat in prima jumătate a secolului al XX-lea / The Archive of the writer Virgil Birou (1903–1968) as documentary source of the cultural history of the region Banat in the first half of the 20th century

Jan. 1, 2018

Abstract

! e current study deals with the archive of the writer Virgil Birou (1903–1968), who belonged to the group “the Caraş clover” together with the sculptor Romul Ladea (1901–1970) and the historian Ion StoiaUdrea (1901–1977). After he completed the engineering studies in Timişoara, his interests were linked to literature, journalism and photography. A close friend of the writers and artists who frequented the Spieluhr restaurant in Timişoara, Virgil Birou succeeded to put together an important collection of paintings, graphic works and sculptures by the teachers and students of the Fine Arts School transferred from Cluj to Timişoara in 1933: Alexandru Popp, Romul Ladea, Catul Bogdan, Aurel Ciupe, Ion Vlasiu, Eugen Gâscă, Ştefan Gomboşiu and Tasso Marchini. After the death of the writer the art collection and the archive came under the ownership of the two children: Veturia Ioana (Turi) (1937–1997), an associated professor of ethnography and folklore at the Western University in Timişoara, and Ioan Horaţiu (Ionuţ) (1938–2012), engineer. ! e wife of the late Ioan Birou has donated the archive in 2018 to the National Museum of Banat with 2776 photos, post cards and manuscripts, newspapers, and literary magazines, which o' er a glimpse into the world of the writer Virgil Birou and his perspective about the reality of the region Banat during the * rst half of the 20th century.