The Artists’ House at No. 11

Along the years, Lajos Besch & Károly Piffl Apartment Building has been, and remains to this day, a true artists’ house. Possibly, the beginning of the story can be traced back to the ‘60s. One of the spaces at the ground floor of the building, which had direct access to the boulevard, hosted the painting section of Progresul (The Progress) Cooperative. In 1963 my grandmother, Petitjean Edita, a painter by profession, became the leader of that workshop. Her paintings were very popular. The section was full of admirers and clients, with a warm welcoming atmosphere. She recounts: “clients would buy the paintings even before the oil had had a chance to dry, for fear that someone else might buy them”.

Until the ‘70s-’80s, the building was the residence of Iuliu Szappanos, an artist working with stained glass. (e.n. According to Timișoara’s catalogue of addresses from 1938, the people who lived in the building were Szappanos Sen., painter of signs, and Iuliu Szappanos Jr., artistic painter). When my family moved into the building, in the exact flat that used to belong to the Szappanos family, we found fragments of structures used for stained glass windows.

The buildings have two courtyards: the main one belonging to the big building and a secondary one, “the small courtyard”, located at the back of the main building, which ensured access to the former workers’ lodges during the construction phase, lodges that are still there today. I remember there used to be a big stained window on one of the walls of the building. In the meantime, the big courtyard has become green. Vegetation was planted that can still be seen today, with the vine covering the handrails and creating a lively atmosphere.

When we were little, we always used to find small pieces of colourful glass that we valued as treasures. The small courtyard is the most interesting space in the building. The Fine Arts Fund would rent the aforementioned annexes to artists, so that the courtyard was constantly animated by painters, creative bohemians or apprentices sculpting or working wrought iron. I would like to mention here the sculptor “Jo”, the painter Ianto Arcadie Radin (known as “Arpi”) and Luigi Varga, the house sculptor who still works in one of the spaces in the small courtyard, and whose works are part of public and private collections, in Romania and abroad.  

Like I said, the Petitjean family, which included four generations of artists (partially still active), moved into the Szappanos family flat in the ‘80s. Apartment 19 on the second floor became “Petitjean Painting Workshop”, which still exists today. The artist Petitjean Edita (my grandmother) has a history of over 65 years in the field, combining work and pleasure, with a vast experience in thousands of oil works scattered everywhere in the world, on all the continents.

In time, this building was (and still is) the home of various artists: Svetlana Pomorisat (painting and furniture restoration) on the first floor, Margareta Chivău (furniture painting) on the second floor, Adela Pop (painting, stained glass windows, jewellery) also on the first floor, Felicia Selejan (graphic artist, professor at Children’s Palace) at the ground floor. And, for the artistic diversity to be even greater, the building also hosted film and theatre actors (Victor and Mălina Manovici, Ana Munteanu, Colin and Judith Buzoianu, Ioana Iacob), architects (Andreea Anghel, Eduard Man, Anania Cosmin) and Victor Andrieș, a former producer of radio shows and a great enthusiast, collector, blogger and promoter of jazz music. 

The rehabilitation project ended up in the right hands and after a few years of surveying, chasing permits, expert evaluations and verifications, we have finally obtained the authorisation to begin restoration works. The negotiations around the necessity of this project took place in countless residents meetings that continued into film projections and music listening sessions in the interior courtyard, in order to lighten the mood. 

In conclusion, we, the building at “16 December 1989” Boulevard no. 11, take pride in a motley community of artists from various fields and of various ranks, an interesting community with its conflicts, dramas and joys, like any numerous family. Soon we hope to uncover the true beauty of the building and bring it back to life, so people can admire it like they did 100 years ago.