The “Ion Jalea” Museum

Situated on the seashore, near the Casino boardwalk of Constanța, the ”Ion Jalea” Museum is one of the few cultural edifices in Romania, exclusively dedicated to sculpture.

It is located in an elegant house, designed in Neo-Romanian style by architect Victor Stephanescu after the Great War. Initially, the building was the property of Constantin Pariano, who held office as governor of Constanța County at the beginning of the 20^th century. After the instauration of Communism in Romania, the ”Pariano House” was nationalized. When, in 1968, sculptor Ion Jalea decided to donate 108 personal artworks to the city of Constanța, the city administrators hosted locate the museum in the ”Pariano House”, that became The ”Ion Jalea” Museum, as it is known today. After the sculptor’s death, his family completed the donation that now counts 227 works.

Ion Jalea (1887-1983) was born in Casimcea, Tulcea County; his bond with the Dobrudjan land is reaffirmed in his dedication to showcase physiognomies of locals, traditional attires, or local trades in a series of  of small-sized portraits or sculptures.

Carved in various materials like: plaster, bronze, stone or marble, his thematic series includes allegorical, religious or mythological figures,  war or everyday work scenes, nudes, portraits,  culminating with his monumental works.

The Ion Jalea Museum has a special quality, that of carrrying us through the entire sculptor’s creation phases, through the favorite themes, thus, shaping an exceptional artistic destiny.