MARCEL GHE. MUNTEAN, The artist Gheorghe Russu, maker of the iconostasis in the metropolitan
cathedral of the Assumption from Cluj
The artist Gheorghe Russu (1880-1972) is part of a generation of creators who completed their
studies abroad and who worked in the vast range of fi ne arts. In the fi eld of sacred arts, he made the
iconostasis in the Monastery of St. Elijah in Toplita and that in the Episcopal (now Metropolitan)
Cathedral of the Assumption from Cluj.
A series of paintings, icons, book illustrations – engravings, projects – defi ne the vast and creative
work of the artist Gheorghe Russu before he left the country. He passed away in 1972 at the age of
97.
The high iconostasis, magnifi cent, dynamic and structured on different registers, comprises four
rows of icons: some executed by the artist Gheorghe Russu, and the other icons bear the signature
of the painter Anastasie Demian (1899-1977). It is believed that the iconostasis was carved by the craftsman Moise Şchiopu from Rupea after a project by the painter Gheorghe Russu.
Observing the post Brancovan tradition and that of Eastern monumental iconostases, this one is
characterized by four basic elements: the Beautiful Gates, railing with columns and the architrave,
along with friezes of icons and the canopy composed of parallel rows and positioned so that they
express proportion, stability, richness, solemnity, majesty and grandeur.
KEYWORDS: Gheorghe Russu, Anastasie Demian, Moise Şchiopul, Iacov the Painter, iconostasis, the
Virgin and Child, Deisis, The Archangels Michael and Gabriel, St. John the Baptist, St. Nicholas, the
Holy Altar, the Beautiful Gates, Deacons’ Doors, icons of the Feasts

MARCEL GHE. MUNTEAN