LE SYMPOSIUM INTERNATIONAL LE LIVRE. LA ROUMANIE. L ...

The Phanariot prince nicolae Petru Mavrogheni... 49
records, with the exception maybe of pitar hristache’s rhymed chronicle
(maybe the anonymous twin chronicle did not assume authorship just
because it was critical). So if there is little uncertainty left as to how many
chronicles Mavrogheni was able to commission, it is quite obvious that he
might have ordered a fair number of portraits and at least one allegorical
painting. this last gives one an idea of Mavrogheni’s megalomania and...
hypocrisy, maybe. the theme is Mavrogheni’s apotheosis for his victories
against the Austrians (let us remember the message sent through lady
Craven to the Austrian emperor). It dates from 1789 and is depicted and
reproduced by Blancard. let us remind that besides elements taken from
the local book editions (the sun and the moon surrounding the princely
coat of arms in the books, Mavrogheni’s image in the painting) there are
inscriptions all around. they speak of the sphere Dacia (the country that
he rules resembles the whole universe) and of Mavrogheni’s absolute rule.
In 1789 the newly established printing press in Bucharest by the
brothers lazarus (whose production was very limited) did an anthology
devoted to the praise Mavrogenis. In the foreword the brothers praise the
prince, as do most of the poems in the book.
nevertheless, one of the texts drew lots of attention, as it is a
cryptography which reads both as a praise and as a libel.
We were able to find still another one written by Alexander Kalfoglou 29
using, as a tribute to Mavrogeni, the metaphor of the sea and sailing. For us
at least, some verses read with a double meaning:
29 Op. cit., p. 329.