Gheorghe Asachi (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈɡe̯orɡeaˈsaki], surname also spelledAsaki; 1 March 1788 – 12 November 1869) was aMoldavian, laterRomanian, prose writer, poet, painter, historian, dramatist, engineer, border maker, and translator. AnEnlightenment-educatedpolymath andpolyglot, he was one of the most influential people of his generation. Asachi was a respected journalist and political figure, as well as active in technical fields such ascivil engineering andpedagogy, and, for long, thecivil servant charged with overseeing all Moldavian schools. Among his leading achievements were the issuing ofAlbina Românească, a highly influential magazine, and the creation ofAcademia Mihăileană, which replacedGreek-language education with teaching inRomanian. His literary works combined a taste forClassicism withRomantic tenets, while his version of theliterary language relied onarchaisms and borrowings from theMoldavian dialect.

Gheorghe Asachi
Born	(1788-03-01)1 March 1788 Herța,Principality of Moldavia
Died	12 November 1869(1869-11-12) (aged 81) Iași,Principality of Romania
Occupation	poet, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, journalist, translator, painter, engineer, architect, schoolteacher, academic, civil servant
Nationality	Moldavian
Period	c. 1812 – c. 1860
Genre	lyric poetry,epic poetry,novella
Subject	history of Romania,Romanian mythology
Literary movement	Romanticism Classicism

A controversial political figure, Asachi endorsed theImperial Russian presence in Moldavia and played a major part in establishing theRegulamentul Organic regime, while supporting the rule ofPrinceMihail Sturdza. He thus came to clash with representatives of theliberal current, and opposed both theMoldavian revolution of 1848 and the country's union withWallachia. Engaged in a long polemic with the liberal leaderMihail Kogălniceanu, he was, together withNicolae Vogoride, involved in the unsuccessful attempt to block the unionist project through the means of anelectoral fraud. Asachi was noted for his deep connections withWestern culture, which led him to support the employment of foreign experts in various fields and educational institutions. He cultivated a relationship with theFrench historianEdgar Quinet, whose father-in-law he became in 1852.

Asachi was born inHerța, a small town which is now part ofUkraine. His family originated inAustrian-ruledTransylvania, where it was known under the nameAsachievici.^[1] His father, Lazăr, was anOrthodox priest who kept close contacts withMetropolitanVeniamin Costachi; according to several sources, he was ofArmenian descent.^[2][3] His mother Elena (née Niculau or Ardeleanu) was herself the daughter of a Transylvanian priest. The couple had another son, named Petru. Lazăr Asachi was his son's first educator, after which the young Gheorghe most likely enrolled in the Church-run primary school in Herța.^[4]

In summer 1795, after deciding not to send Gheorghe and Petru to a Moldavian Greek-language school in the capital city ofIași, Lazăr Asachi opted to give them a more modern education in the Austrian lands, sending them toLemberg, where they attendedgymnasium. After completing seven terms of education inLatin,Polish andGerman, Gheorghe Asachi entered university (the present-dayLviv University) at the age of 14. He studied at the Faculty of Letters, Philosophy and Sciences (attending lectures inlogic,metaphysics,ethics,mathematics,physics,natural history, andarchitecture), but, in 1804, after two years of studies, he withdrew and returned to Moldavia. Despite this, his level of familiarity withWestern culture was arguably unparalleled in his native country during the first half of the 19th century.^[4] Over the following decades, he designed several lodgings in both his native country andGalicia.^[5]

His return followed the death of his mother and Lazăr Asachi's appointment asFirst Protopope of the Moldavian Metropolitan Seat, and saw the family settling in Iași.^[4]

In early 1805, Asachi fell ill withmalaria, and was helped by Metropolitan Veniamin to travel toVienna, where doctors had advised him to seek treatment. As the recipient of a statescholarship, Asachi studied mathematics andastronomy withTobie Bürg, as well as pursuing training in the art of painting.^[5][4]

His time in the city coincided with theFrench Empire's successes in theNapoleonic Wars, and, most important, with the 1805War of the Third Coalition, during whichLa Grande Armée occupied Vienna. This allowed Asachi to familiarize himself withFrench Revolutionary andliberal tenets, which he partly adopted in his political activities. In 1808, as theRusso-Turkish War erupted, Moldavia was occupied by theRussian Empire, First Protopope Lazăr contactedPavel Chichagov to have his son appointedlieutenant and local head of the Corps of Engineers, but Gheorghe Asachi refused to assume office or even return from Vienna. Instead, he left forItaly in April 1808, aiming to complete his studies inRome, but making long stops in other localities on the way (he notably visitedTrieste,Venice,Padova,Ferrara,Bologna, andFlorence). Reaching the capital of thePapal States on 11 June, Asachi left on 19 August to visitNaples,Pompeii, and other locations in theKingdom of Sicily. Upon reachingMount Vesuvius, he descended unaccompanied into thevolcanic crater, and was encouraged by a cheering audience.^[6]

He soon after returned to Rome, where he focused on studyingRenaissance Latin andItalian literature, as well as taking classes inarcheology, painting and sculpture, and entered his most prolific phase in visual arts. In 1809, while visiting an art shop near theSpanish Steps, he met Bianca Milesi, the 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy merchant fromMilan, with whom he fell in love. Despite her 1825 marriage to a French doctor, he was to remain her passionate admirer until her death fromcholera in 1849. He later stressed that she had been a major source of inspiration for him, especially in allowing him the transition "from painter to poet", while the literary criticEugen Lovinescu believed she inspired Asachi'sRomantic nationalism.^[6]

At the time, he authored his first poems onRomanian nationalist subjects, which earned him an award presented by the Roman Literary Society. One of these wasViitorul ("The Future"), which voiced a call for national regeneration. Interested in theorigin of the Romanians and the history ofRoman Dacia, Asachi studied events depicted onTrajan's Column and searched theVatican Library for documents regarding thehistory of Romania. It was during the latter research that he came acrossDimitrie Cantemir'sHistory of the Growth and Decay of the Ottoman Empire in its English-language edition.^[6]

Through Bianca Milesi, Asachi metFrançois Miollis, the French commander in Rome, who reportedly told him thatNapoleon Bonaparte intended to emancipate Moldavia andWallachia as a result of theexpedition into Russia, and thus create a new "Dacian Kingdom" in the area of present-day Romania. Partly as a result of this encouragement, Asachi decided to travel back home on 22 June 1812, and, sailing down toGalați, arrived in Iași on 30 August. His designs regarding French protection over theDanubian Principalities were ended by Napoleon's retreat from Russia, and by the restoration ofOttomansuzerainty andPhanariote rule, whenSultanMahmud II appointedScarlat Callimachi asPrince.^[6]

In reaction to these developments, Gheorghe Asachi centered his attention on cultural improvements,Westernization, andEnlightenment teachings, with support from Metropolitan Veniamin. In 1813, his expertise and familiarity with European languages led Prince Callimachi to appoint him Reviewer (Referandar) for the Department of Foreign Affairs.^[7]

In 1814, increasingly opposed to the Greek-language teaching favored by the Phanariotes, Asachi proposed the first in a series of Romanian-language educational institutions, a course inengineering andtopography to be held at thePrincely Academy in Iași;^[5][8][9] once approved by the ruler and countersigned by Veniamin, the lectures attracted a number of youngboyars (including the future Ottoman diplomatAlexandros Kallimachis, Scarlat's son,Teodor Balș (who was to serve as Moldavia'skaymakam in 1856–1857),Daniel Scavinschi, as well as Gheorghe Asachi's brother Petru.^[10] He gave various lectures, and offered additional training in drawing andart history,^[11][12] as well as inRomanian history.^[8] He organized several exhibits of his students' work intechnical drawing.^[5] Despite a favorable report from itsinspectors, Asachi's facility soon met with opposition fromGreek teachers at the Academy, which led it to be closed soon after its original students graduated (1819).^[13]

Nevertheless, Asachi was not stripped of his professorship, and was allowed to maintain both his position as head of the Princely Library and his house on Academy grounds. Later in the same year, he was involved in reorganizing the Orthodoxseminary at Iași'sSocola Monastery, and traveled toTransylvania in order to enlist the help of scholars active there. His friendly relations with various leaders of theTransylvanian School helped in achieving this goal; in 1820, he returned to Moldavia accompanied byVasile Fabian Bob,Ioan Costa,Ion Manfi, andVasile Pop, all of whom became teachers at the Academy.^[13]

Early in 1821, Gheorghe Asachi's activities were interrupted when the GreekFiliki Eteria forces crossed thePrut River and took over Moldavia on their way to Wallachia, during what constituted the earliest stage of theGreek War of Independence. Like his father (who died in 1825), Metropolitan Veniamin, and many other notable Moldavians, Asachi fled into Russian territory. He returned the following year, as the Ottoman Empire retook the region and put an end to Phanariote rule (a measure which attracted Asachi's enthusiasm); the new prince,Ioan Sturdza, appointed him Moldavian representative to the Austrian Empire, an office which he held between 30 November 1822 and February 1827.^[14] With this, he was awarded thetraditional rank ofGreat Comis, and thus joined the ranks of nobility. As a diplomat, Asachi was foremost noted for his contacts with nationalist intellectuals who represented various ethnicities subject to the Austrian Empire.^[15]

While inVienna, he met theAustrian womanElena Tauber, formergoverness of theSturdza children and widow of the merchant Kiriako Melirato; she was hisconcubine until 1827, when they were married in an Orthodox church in Iași.^[15] Tauber had three children from her marriage to Melirato — a girl,Hermiona, and two boys, Alexandru andDimitrie (later, a mathematician); all of them were adopted by Asachi.^[16]

Soon after returning, Asachi was appointed caretaker of all Moldavian schools andVel Agha. In March 1828, he succeeded in opening a multilingual upper school and gymnasium, connected to theTrei Ierarhi Church, namedȘcoala Vasiliană orGimnaziul Vasilian (in honor of the 17th-century princeVasile Lupu, who had created the original education institution on that site). It was the first modern institution of its kind in Moldavia, and was soon supplemented by acollege.^[13]Școala Vasiliană also continued the engineering course, taught by Gheorghe Filipescu, and had additional chairs in mathematics, architecture,applied mechanics andhydraulics; in 1834, it sent several of its alumni, including the architectAlexandru Costinescu, for further studies abroad.^[8] On 19 July 1827, a great fire in Iași's western quarter destroyed Asachi's lodging, as well as the vast majority of his possessions and manuscripts.^[16]

Upon the end of theRusso-Turkish War of 1828–1829, Moldavia and Wallachia again came under Russian administration. During that interval, Asachi decided to expand his educational goals and popularize new ideas through the means of press institutions, and requested approval from the Russianconsul in Iaşi,Matvey Minciaky, to have these set up.^[11] In April 1829, Russia endorsed his project for a magazine titledAlbina Românească, which first saw print in July of the same year.^[17][11][18] The first periodical to be published in Moldavia, it ran its ownprinting press, known asInstitutul Albinei and originally housed in the Trei Ierarhi area. Alongside its stated goal (which involved generating aliterary language),Albina Românească hosted pieces on current events, scientific essays, as well as articles offering practical advice.^[19]

Over the following decades, it oversaw the publishing of several other magazines, which were originally designed as supplements;^[20] among these,Alăuta Românească (1837–1838) andFoaea Sătească a Prințipatului Moldovei (1839) were initiated by the younger activistMihail Kogălniceanu, who, through his influential publicationDacia Literară, become a vocal critic of Asachi's political and cultural views.^[21][22][18] First and foremost, Kogălniceanu expressed his dissatisfaction over the fact thatAlbina Românească relied on publishing translations from foreign authors, instead of encouraging national specificity.^[18]

In addition, Asachi also issued a large panel of related works, including a series ofalmanacs which ran between 1847 and 1870.^[23] Another magazine created by Asachi, the short-livedSpicuitorul Moldo-Român (1841–1842), was published in both Romanian andFrench, having a Frenchman named Gallice, who worked as a teacher, for its co-editor.^[24]

In late 1829, through a framework first outlined in theAkkerman Convention, Russian governorPeter Zheltukhin established a board of experts from both countries, charged with drafting theconstitutional project eventually known asRegulamentul Organic. The project was delayed by the ongoing war and epidemics of cholera andbubonic plague until 1831–1832, asPavel Kiselyov took over for Zheltukhin; Gheorghe Asachi served as secretary of the Moldavian board^[25][5] — the body also comprisedMihail Sturdza,Iordache Catagiu,Constantin Cantacuzino-Pașcanu andCostache Conachi.^[26]

The membership outlined for the Moldavian board scandalized the lesser boyars, who pointed out that the Akkerman treaties called for the new legislation to be adopted through a vote in a representativeBoyar Divan, and who attempted to have Asachi and Conachi recalled.^[27] Despite the protests, the board continued its activities, being overseen by the former consul Minciaky; together with Mihail Sturdza and the WallachianAlexandru Vilara, Asachi was dispatched toSaint Petersburg to obtain the approval ofEmperorNicholas I, which led to the document being enforced in both Principalities. In its final version, theRegulament endorsed his efforts as educator, regulatingpublic education and transferring assets donated by Vasile Lupu toȘcoala Vasiliană.^[26]

The trade regulations offered by theRegulament were welcomed with enthusiasm by Asachi, prompting him to write anode in their honor, titledAnnul nou al moldo-românilor 1830, în care s-a lucrat Regulamentul organic, acel întâi cod administrativ al Moldovei ("The New Year of the Moldo-Romanians 1830, in WhichRegulamentul Organic, the First Administrative Code of Moldavia, Was Completed").^[28] In sharp contrast to his later advocacy, Asachi attempted to introduce provisions for the two Principalities' union, and some of his interventions in the text were meant to facilitate this project.^[29] At the time, he took a compassionate view in respect to peasants, denouncing the exploitation of their labor by the boyars.^[30]

Gheorghe Asachi was deeply impressed by the institutions he saw functioning in the Russian capital, and did his best to replicate them in Moldavia.^[28] After his return from Russia, Asachi became head of the Moldavian National Archives, in which capacity he published the first collection of documents referring to the country's history.^[11] From early 1834 onwards, he was a main collaborator of the newly appointed prince and former colleague on the Moldavian board, Mihail Sturdza, receiving funds and benefiting from an order to prioritize education in "Moldavian" (Romanian).^[31]

In July of the same year, Asachi visited the Wallachian capital ofBucharest, being charged by Minciaky with strengthening the common framework of theRegulament by ensuring that its two versions did not differ in content.^[28] By May 1833, he was able to move into a new house, which he designed and erected in theMuntenimea area ofCopou Hill, on a large plot of land he had purchased fromLupu Balș; at around the same time,Institutul Albinei was also reopened on the new location.^[16] An 1852 survey showed that Asachi had a second, smaller, house in downtown Iași.^[16]

In late 1834, at Asachi's request, Sturdza gave approval for the first Moldavian girls' school to be opened in the capital. On 6 June 1835, following Asachi's interventions,Academia Mihăileană, the first Romanian-language institution ofhigher education, was established in the city.^[11] A fundamental institution of higher learning, and the nucleus for the present-dayUniversity of Iași, it also hosted lectures by cultural figures from Moldavia, Transylvania and Wallachia alike, including some of Asachi's young rivals; among the teachers wereMihail Kogălniceanu,Ion Ionescu de la Brad,Eftimie Murgu,Ion Ghica, andAugust Treboniu Laurian.^[8] In addition, Asachi presented a plan to create a school ofagronomy, to function alongside the city's military academy, and, by 1848, created a school for further qualification in engineering.^[8]

On 15 November 1836, he founded, alongsideVornicȘtefan Catargiu andSpătar Alecsandri (the father of poetVasile Alecsandri), aconservatory, and, after 1837, was appointed head of theMoldavian Theater, among the first of its kind to showcase original pieces in Romanian.^[32] At the head of a committee, he took charge of translating aGerman-languagedictionary into Romanian, stressing that this was a response to the Moldavians' need for knowledge.^[18] During the early 1840s, he became interested in organizing education for thenon-emancipatedArmenian andJewish communities — in 1842, it was as a result of his efforts that an Armenian primary school was set up.^[11]

In 1847, Asachi's printing press issued anArmenian-languageprimer.^[3] He was also the person behind the creation of the Iași School of Arts and Crafts (January 1841), as well as helping establish the firstpublic library, thepaper mill nearPiatra Neamț, an art gallery, and a National History Museum.^[32] In the meantime,Academia Mihăileană was disestablished and transformed into a French-language school (overseen by a teacher named Malgouverné).^[33]

Over the same decade, Asachi moved towardsConservatism, defendingRegulamentul Organic in opposition to the increasingly popularliberal current.^[34][18] He clashed with young activists who rejected Sturdza's rule, and, as early as 1839, noted with dissatisfaction that "a new people was born [...], with new wishes and ideas".^[28] His conflict with Kogălniceanu was transported to the field of politics, and Asachi joined in condemning the anti-Regulamentfailed rebellion of 1848.^[35] As most other press venues submitted to the minimal requirement of Russian officials and avoided publishing any material related to the revolution,Albina Românească criticized the revolutionaries for having discarded "their duty to the powers that be", and praised Russia for sending its troops to combat "anarchy".^[22][18] Despite this, Kogălniceanu later claimed that, on one occasion, he had seen Asachi sobbing over having been made to criticize the Romanian activists.^[36]

The debate prolonged itself over the following years, and, coupled with Asachi's unwavering support for Sturdza, saw him joining theseparatist camp at a time the post-revolutionary groupPartida Națională began openly campaigning for Moldo-Wallachian unification.^[37][38] While supporting the interests of themiddle class, Asachi stressed that these could complement afeudal system, and rejected the revolutionary call for abolishingprivilege.^[30]

Also in 1848, Asachi lost his daughter, the 19-year-old Eufrosina, to thecholera outbreak.^[16] He published two poems written in her memory.^[16]

In January 1850, almost one year after theConvention of Balta Liman awarded the Moldavian throne to the reform-minded and revolutionary sympathizerGrigore Alexandru Ghica,Albina Românească changed its name toGazeta de Moldavia, adopting an official tone.^[20] Asachi, who resigned his positions as inspector and archivist in 1849, was awarded a substantialpension.^[22] Between 1851 and 1854, he was head ofcensorship, using this position to awardimprimatur for reformist ideas (with Prince Ghica's tacit approval).^[22] At the time, he gave endorsement to theChronicle of Huru, a document which was claimed to trace a direct lineage betweenRoman Dacia and Moldavia, and to clarify the more mysterious aspects of the country'searly medieval history — the document was used by separatists to emphasize Moldavia's tradition of independence, but was the subject to an inquiry and dismissed by Kogălniceanu (it was later established that the text was a forgery).^[37]

During the political battles which followed Ghica's retirement and theCrimean War,Gazeta de Moldavia transformed itself into an official platform for the anti-unionist camp.^[20] After the retreat of Russian troops and an interval of Austrian administration, Moldavia and Wallachia's government came under the direct supervision of various European powers, andKaymakamTeodor Balș ensured the interregnum in Iași. In this context, Ottoman authorities, through the voice ofFuat Pasha, gave their approval for relativefreedom of the press to be legislated.^[22] WithCostache Negruzzi, Asachi again became an official censor, while again assuming the offices of archivist and inspector of Moldavian schools.^[22]

As theTreaty of Paris imposed the creation ofad hoc Divans, through which the two countries' inhabitants were allowed to decide their future, the unionist camp saw a chance for fulfilling its goals; Asachi and his associates reacted vehemently, and, in May 1857, complained to thePorte that unification would bring about various perils. One month later, the government ofKaymakamNicolae Vogoride carried out anelectoral fraud to yield a separatist majority in the ad hoc Divan — Asachi, who supported Sturdza's bid for the throne, is thought to have played a major part in bringing this about, and, together with Vogoride himself,Nicolae Istrati, and the Austrian consulOskar von Gödel-Lannoy, to have drawn up falsified the electoral lists.^[38] He was himself a candidate in the Iașielectoral college, receiving 197 votes and placing second among the representatives it sent to the Divan.^[39] His magazine stood alone in claiming that the regime had acted impartially.^[20]

The suffrage was hotly contested and annulled through an agreement between theFrance andGreat Britain; Asachi himself was thus forced to note that the new elections in August managed to overturn the previous results.^[40] He was no longer elected a deputy, and his candidature for the position of secretary of the electoral board was awarded just one vote.^[39] In 1858,Gazeta de Moldavia was entirely dedicated to political subjects and support for Vogoride's policies, and ceased print in October, as theKaymakam ended his mandate.^[20] In late November, it reemerged under the titlePatria, which continued to criticizePartida Națională from a conservative position, notably hosting articles by the anti-unionist Istrati.^[20] As a newregency of three was preparing elections, the magazine rallied withȘtefan Catargiu, Asachi's lifelong collaborator and the separatist representative in the body ofkaymakams, against the two unionists (Vasile Sturdza andAnastasie Panu), before Catargiu was replaced withI. A. Cantacuzino.^[40] In November 1837, Asachi and another 36 separatist boyars issued a memorandum unsuccessfully asking the OttomanGrand VizierAali Pasha to intervene against the unionistkaymakams, restore censorship, and to narrow down the electoral lists.^[39]

The situation changed in January 1859, whenPartida Națională was able to ensure the election ofAlexandru Ioan Cuza as both Prince of Moldavia andPrince of Wallachia, in what was thede facto union of the two countries. After congratulating Cuza on his accomplishment, Asachi authored a poem titledOdă la Dumnezeu ("An Ode to God"), which proclaimed the brotherhood of Romanians and the notion that "power resides in Unity".^[39]Patria drastically reduced its articles in support of separation, while allocating most of its space to reprinting official papers.^[20] Nevertheless, asDomnitor Cuza was deposed and the election of a foreign ruler over theRomanian Principality was being assessed, it is probable that Gheorghe Asachi again switched to a separatist stance: on 14 April 1866, after an incident during which Iași crowds protested the prolongation of unification beyond Cuza's reign, he was the subject of an inquiry on charges ofsedition. This remains a mysterious aspect of his political career, and it is certain that Asachi eventually rallied withCarol later in the year. It is likely, however, that his inconsistent views prompted other intellectuals to reject his participation in founding theRomanian Academy.^[39]

The various projects also involved Asachi's own financial reserves, which led him to become indebted andmortgage his assets on several occasions: in 1862, after Asachi was declaredinsolvent, the Copou house was put up forauction, but the writer was able to come up with the money before the sale was completed.^[16] He continued to depend on loans in order to feed his family, and unsuccessfully offeredInstitutul Albinei to be purchased by the state.^[16] In February 1869, theDimitrie Ghica government awarded Asachi a yearly pension of 8,888lei, "for the important services he has brought to the country from 1813 to 1862".^[39] He died several months later in Iași, and was buried at thePatruzeci de Sfinți Church.^[30][16] His printing press ceased its activity in 1867.^[16]

During his youth, Asachi was one of the most representative members of anidealist generation of Moldavianintellectuals.^[35] In the context of earlyRomanian literature, whereRomanticism and delayedClassicism coexisted, Asachi, likeGrigore Alexandrescu,George Baronzi and others, tended to side with the latter,^[41] at a time when his counterpart inBucharest,Ion Heliade Rădulescu, bridged the gap between the two schools.^[42] The literary criticGarabet Ibrăileanu concluded that Asachi's literature signified a transition between a Classicist stage exemplified byCostache Conachi and younger Romantics such asVasile Alecsandri andDimitrie Bolintineanu (he also concluded that the casual comparisons made between Heliade Rădulescu and Asachi had failed to note that the former was not a conservative).^[18] Gheorghe Asachi recommended his students to studyItalian literature, and would frown upon models inspired byFrench literature.^[18]

His works included poems, the first of which were written inItalian,^[43] as well as vast array of short stories andnovellas, through which Asachi attempted to create a legendary history partly mirroringRomanian mythology.^[44] The major influences on his work wereRenaissance authors such asPetrarch,Ludovico Ariosto, andTorquato Tasso, but he also accommodated more modern influences, such asSalvator Rosa,Thomas Gray,Gottfried August Bürger,Vasily Zhukovsky,Lord Byron andFriedrich Schiller.^[41]

Thus, Asachi created himself afictional location, calledDochia — a reference to bothDacia and the myth ofBaba Dochia, which houses theCeahlău Massif under the name ofPion.^[44] Asachi was also the first person to mention Baba Dochia in connection to theRoman EmperorTrajan and theDacian Wars — the vague and unprecedented references make it likely that he actually invented the original story as well.^[45] References to this universe are also present in an eponymous novella aboutDragoș, the firstPrince of Moldavia, which partly drew on oldchronicles, and partly displayed Asachi's own fictional devices. The story centers on Harboe, achivalrousTatar ruler who resides in theCumanian town ofRomidava, who falls in love with Branda, the daughter of aMoesian lord and would-be wife of Dragoș.^[46] Dochia's hiddenaltar, referred to as "asimulacrum", is guarded by aVestal-like priestess and adeer hind. Asachi's other prose works on historical subjects take similar liberties with their subjects (they notably describe largeGothic monuments andtournaments in medieval Moldavia, as well as improbable details from the lives of 14th–16th century PrincesBogdan I,Stephen the Great, andPetru Rareș).^[46]

Asachi's works also include romanticized accounts of a journey made by theCossackHetmanIvan Mazepa into Moldavia (Mazepa în Moldova) and the life of Ruxandra, daughter ofVasile Lupu and wife ofTymofiy Khmelnytsky (Rucsandra Doamna), as well asJijia, where a capturedfairy recounts her previous existence as aChristian martyr, andSirena lacului, where a dishonored maiden, who has turned into asiren, takes revenge on boyar.^[46]

In connection withNicolae Vogoride's policies, Asachi drew on historical subject to counter the calls for unity voiced byPartida Națională; in addition to the endorsement he gave to theChronicle of Huru, he emphasized, in an article of June 1857, the campaign led by Stephen the Great into Wallachia, calling for a landmark to be raised in honor of "the vanquisher of the Wallachians".^[38] This mirrored the earlier comments made by the Wallachian anti-unionistDimitrie Papazoglu, who proposed a celebration and monument honoring the 1653Battle of Finta (during which the Wallachian forces ofMatei Basarab had defeated an army of Moldavians and Cossacks).^[38]

Gheorghe Asachi's style has been criticized from the time of his debate with other intellectuals of his age, whenMihail Kogălniceanu argued that his lyrical works were mere replicas of foreign models. Several influential literary historians of the 20th century expressed similar views:George Călinescu indicated that, in general, poems by Asachi sounded "banal"; in one of his essays,Paul Zarifopol commented that Asachi and his generation, fromIancu Văcărescu toVasile Cârlova,Alexandru Hrisoverghi, and Heliade Rădulescu, were "semi-cultured" and "amateurs". Both Călinescu and Zarifopol stressed that, in his best work, Asachi announced the poetic language ofMihai Eminescu, the most influential Romanian author of the late 19th century.^[47]

Present at the forefront during debates regarding the shape ofliterary language, Asachi drew criticism for introducingarchaisms and marginally usedneologisms to theRomanian lexis, as well as for the forms of spelling he encouraged. Commenting on a series of words which are nowhere used outside his novellas and poems, George Călinescu called them "impossible [...], presently seeming bizarre, mostlyRomantic, lacking in historical perception".^[46]

In essence, Asachi called for the modern language to reflect as much as possible the one used by the people — in this respect, he came closer to Kogălniceanu's views than to those of Heliade Rădulescu (at a time when the latter favored using the dialects employed by theRomanian Orthodox andGreek-Catholic churches).^[48] One of the first to discover old Moldavian chronicles and recommend them for reading, he came to propose that theMoldavian dialect, as reflected in these, could be used as a template for the modern speech.^[49] Nevertheless, his views fluctuated, and he was noted for proposing himself that the Church language be used as a template, while contrasting the support he gave toWesternization in general with his distaste for popular French-sounding neologisms.^[18]

In an article he published in 1847, Asachi defined himself as a partisan of "thejuste milieu" on language matters, and recommended adopting words and rules of grammar with moderation, and from all sources available. According to the literary criticGarabet Ibrăileanu, "[...] anybody who has ever read anything of what this writer has authored knows that he has a language of his own, a characteristic one, resembling those of many writers, without resemblig that of anyone else to the point where we could place him in any category." The same commentator nonetheless noted that there were clear similarities between the way in which Asachi used Romanian and the language favored byCostache Conachi.^[18]

His enduring aversion towards Western neologisms, as well as towards theLatin-basedlinguistic purism favored by manyTransylvanian scholars, made Asachi a predecessor of theBukovinian academicAron Pumnul. However, in his later years, Asachi came to praise and uphold Heliade Rădulescu's controversial advocacy in favor of modifying Romanian on the basis of Italian (with its claim that the two languages were in fact closely related dialects of Latin).^[18]

Asachi's experimentations with theRomanian Latin alphabet were noted for their inconsistencies, and criticized as such by Kogălniceanu (who, as an example, pointed out that Asachi had alternatively used "tch", "tz", "c", and "cz" to mark thevoiceless postalveolar affricate).^[18]

Considered, together with the Wallachian Heliade Rădulescu, the founder of earlyRomanian theater,^[50][51] Asachi produced the first staging of a Romanian-language play, first performed for the public on 27 December 1816, at theGhica family manor.^[52][53] The work was his own adaptation ofMyrtil et Chloé, apastoral theme authored bySolomon Gessner and retaken byJean-Pierre Claris de Florian;^[52][53][50] in its printed version, the text also featured illustrations drawn by his own hand.^[54] Extremely popular, Asachi's play was celebrated for helping to counter the perceivedxenophily of the early 19th century Moldavian cultural environment.^[55] Two Ghicas and a Sturdza were assigned parts in the first staging, andVeniamin Costachi was present in the audience.^[53]

In early 1837, hisconservatory began functioning regularly, which coincided with Asachi's leadership of theNational Theatre. Before and after this moment, the writer contributed translations from various prestigious dramatists and playwrights,August von Kotzebue,Voltaire,Jean Racine andNikolai Gogol among them. In parallel, he publishedlibrettos for popularoperas, thus lending a hand to the development of local operatic theater.^[55]

As a teacher, Asachi assisted and encouraged the development ofRomanian art. Before he came to exercise his influence, Moldavian art was essentially dependent onboyarpatronage, and, by the turn of the 18th century, had come to focus onportrait painting.^[56] Asachi centered his energies on introducingRomantic nationalist themes and popularizing new trends.^[12] He integrated painting, architecture, and drawing andoil painting in classes taught atAcademia Mihăileană (calledclass de zugrăvie, an antiquated version of "painting course"), and introducedlithography through the means of his printing press.^[11][12][5]

In the 1830s and 1840s, he encouraged artists the copying and publishing of paintings and drawings withhistorical themes. Asachi emphasized the educational aspects ofzugrăvitura istorică în oloiu ("history painting in oil"), and intended its creations to reach as wide an audience as possible.^[11][12] In this respect as well, his contributions were equivalent to those of Heliade Rădulescu, who opened the first museum in Wallachia (1837).^[57]

The resulting works are generallynaïve in quality, and inaccurate in their reconstruction of historical scenes.^[58]Gheorghe Panaiteanu Bardasare, the recipient of ascholarship to theAkademie der Bildenden Künste inMunich, was the only one of his many disciples to remain under the influence of Asachi's tenets for the rest of his life, developing these intoacademic art.^[59] Asachi's disciples also includedGheorghe Lemeni, who studied in Munich andRome, and the minor artist Gheorghe Năstăseanu.^[60][61]

Arguably, Asachi's most important contribution to the artistic field was his involvement in attracting foreign painters to the Moldavian scene, by offering them commissions or educational assignments; among these were thePolishLudwik Stawski and Mauriciu Loeffler, theItalianGiovanni Schiavoni,^[62][63] as well as theAustrian Josef Adler (noted for authoring an 1833 manual forlandscape painting andstill life works) and Ioan Müller (who taughtfigurative art).^[64] Of them, Asachi reportedly considered Schiavoni to be the most competent, while he tended to replace most others after reexamining their skills.^[65] Another important Italian artist who arrived in Iași during that period was the formerCarboneria revolutionaryNiccolò Livaditti, to whom Asachi did not, however, assign a teaching post.^[66] In 1843, four years before the IașiAcademia was radically transformed, the art classes were disestablished due to the protest of various boyars (who objected to the fact that members of all social groups could attend them).^[67]

Gheorghe Asachi's own works, many of which date back to the time he spent inRome, show the influence ofClassicism.^[54] Noted for their rigorous use of artistic conventions and nature study, they are nonetheless considered inferior to both their creator's contributions to other cultural fields and the works of many other painters active in Moldavia at the time.^[12] Asachi himself is known to have sketched out works which were completed by his foreign collaborators or students (among these is a since-lost painting ofStephen the Great facing his mother, signed by the Italian artist Giani, and an 1845 painting of Moldavians in the battle ofMalbork Castle).^[68] A series of Classicist drawings from the early decades of the 19th century have only tentatively been attributed to Asachi.^[12]

Elena, Gheorghe Asachi's widow, died in 1877.^[30][16] Of his adopted children,Dimitrie Asachi was to be the most famous: a pupil of his stepfather's, he was to author the first original book on mathematics in his country (1841).^[8] Alexandru Asachi, who joined theRomanian Army and became an officer,^[16] was himself known as an artist: a lithographer and author of historical works, he published several albums of hand-colored prints during the 1850s.^[69]

In 1835, Hermiona Asachi (whose given name was oftenFrancised asHermione) fell in love with Alexandru, the underage son of former PrinceAlexander Mourousis, who soon after moved into Asachi's house; this scandalized other members of theMourousis family, and the conflict was ended only when the two youths agreed to marry.^[16] They had a son, George Moruzi, who died in 1856.^[16] In 1843, Hermiona translated and publishedSilvio Pellico's collection of maxims,Dei doveri degli uomini.^[70] She got married a second time, in 1852, to the well-known French historianEdgar Quinet^{[16][71][1][72]} (between 1841 and 1845, she had attended Quinet's lectures at theCollège de France);^[71] five years later, Asachi translated and Quinet's collected works into Romanian — according to historianNicolae Iorga, the edition was toned-down and censored.^[24] The Quinets did not have any children.^[16]

In autumn 1890, a statue of Asachi was erected in front of theTrei Ierarhi Church school complex, an initiative taken by a group of his conservative collaborators. On the same occasion, Asachi's remains, together with those of his wife Elena, were placed in the monument's base.^[30][16] The courtyard of Asachi's house onCopou Hill hosts a small monument, which he raised to the memory of his daughter Eufrosina and his grandson George.^[16]

Asachi laid out the plan for a monument honoringRegulamentul Organic, completed by the Russian artist Sungurov with workforce hired fromGalicia, and raised on Copou as the first structure of its kind in Moldavia.^[73] He is also noted for having proposed, in 1853, to create a moderncemetery in Iași onGalata Hill — his project was never used, but in 1871,Eternitatea, a cemetery corresponding to his requirements, was set up on land donated to the city.^[74]

The Copou house itself was taken over by Malvina Czapkai, a creditor of Asachi and his son Alexandru; it served as aboarding school, and, during theRusso-Turkish War of 1877–1878, as a Russian military hospital.^[16] In 1892,Marie of Edinburgh, who had just married the Romanianheir apparent,Ferdinand, purchased it for 52,000lei.^[16] It was subsequently the Principesa Maria School for Arts and Crafts, destined to women's education, and, duringWorld War I, served as a home for orphaned girls.^[16] In 1937, Queen Marie transformed into an institute forwelfare, which notably hosted the practice of sociologist and psychologistMihai Ralea.^[16] The house was again a hospital inWorld War II, when it was taken over by theRomanian Air Force; in 1948, when theCommunist regime was established, it wasnationalized (together with all otherRoyal property), and served as the headquarters of theRomanian Land Forces 4th Corps, and was later rented for private use.^[16] Since 1976, it has housed two institutes of theRomanian Academy (theAlexandru Philippide Institute of Philology and theGheorghe Zane Institute of Economic and Social Research).^[16]

Among the artists two have depicted Asachi during his lifetime were his associate Giovanni Schiavoni (whose painting shows the young writer surrounded by objects illustrating his many interests)^[62][75] andConstantin Daniel Stahi (a pupil of Panaiteanu Berdasare).^[76] In December 1937, a section of theUniversity of Iași was turned into aninstitute of technology, with the name ofGheorghe Asachi Polytechnic School (the present-dayGheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași).^[8] Apublic library in the city also bears his name, as do a school erected in 1900 on the site previously occupied byȘcoala Vasiliană and high schools in the Romanian cities ofBotoșani andSibiu, as well as in theMoldovan capitalChișinău.

• Călinescu, George (1983)Istoria literaturii române. Compendiu,Editura Minerva, Bucharest.
• (in Romanian) Cărăbuș, Gheorghe Gabriel (2004)"Asachi – un separatist avant la lettre", inCodrul Cosminului, Nr.10, at theȘtefan cel Mare University of Suceava; retrieved 3 July 2007
• Djuvara, Neagu (1995)Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne,Humanitas, Bucharest.ISBN 973-28-0523-4
• Drăguț, Vasile; Florea, Vasile; Grigorescu, Dan and Mihalache, Marin (1970)Pictura românească în imagini,Editura Meridiane, Bucharest.OCLC 5717220
• Măciucă, Constantin (1978) "Prefață", p. V-XXXV, in Ion Heliade Rădulescu,Scrieri alese,Editura Albatros, Bucharest.OCLC 16207716
• Oprescu, George (ed.) (1958)Scurtă istorie a artelor plastice în R.P.R.,Editura Academiei RPR, Bucharest.OCLC 7162839

• (in Romanian)Gheorghe Asachi House
• (in Romanian)Gheorghe Asachi Library in Iași