CONSTANTIN LECCA, PICTORUL ICONOSTASULUI BISERICII “ÎNVIEREA DOMNULUI” DIN SEBEş (JUD. ALBA)
CONSTANTIN LECCA, THE PAINTER OF ICONOSTASIS OF “RESURECTION JESUS” CHURCH’ FROM SEBEŞ (ALBA COUNTY)

Summary/Abstract: An archive fund – from the Orthodox Protoerie from Sebeş – kept at the Local Departament of the State Archives Alba, offered the surprise of discovering some documents related to the iconostasis of “Resurection Jesus” from Sebeş. The icons of the iconostasis whose frame was build between 1820 - 1826 at Sibiu, are preserved nowadays without being dated or signed. Only the stylistic characteristics could give some clues, unfortunatelly uncertain. Those 21 documents from the archives of Alba Iulia represent the correspondence between the rector of Sebeş – Ioan Tipeiu and the bishop of Transylvania of that time – Andrei Şaguna. The above mentioned church was important. The ex bishop – Vasile Moga, born in Sebeş had made huge efforts for its raising, having even left a sun of money for the completion of the building. In 1860 the rector and the Sebeş Orthodox representatives found rapidly a painter of icons – Ioan Morar – born in the surroundings of Sebeş, at Laz. Şaguna did not accept him and he reminded the rector the fact that an auction had to be organized through “Romanian Telegraph” and the best painter chosen with a satisfactory financial offer. At the contest, supervised in fact by the bishop, there were present Ioan Balomir, Transylvanian painter settled in Iaşi, George Popescu from Piteşti and Constantin Lecca, settled in Bucharest, but born in Braşov, a city very dear to Şaguna. Although Lecca demanded the largest sum (3900 florins compared to 3000 florins as Ioan Morar asked) he is accepted by the bishop, rector and the Christians. In the agreement signed in September 1860 in five points, it is mentioned that the painter would work in Sebeş, in two rooms near the house of Zaharia Moga. The term of ending the work was eight months. Satisfied with the iconostasis, the inhabitants of Sebeş asked Lecca to paint the bishop’s tower, the pulpit and the loggia. They didn’t agree upon the price athough Şaguna supported the man from Braşov. Laking 200 florins they remained unpainted.

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