I was pleasantly surprised when a few weeks ago I received an enquire from Hart Publishing, the largest independent academic law publisher in the United Kindom, based in Oxford, asking for the permission to use one of my architectural photographs for the cover design of one of their forthcoming books. The volume is entitled “Feminist Judgements. From Theory to Practice”, edited by Rosemary Hunter, Clare McGlynn and Erika Rackley, UK academic specialists in the field. Its cover design has now been completed and appeared on Hart Publishing’s website, a copy of that image being displayed above. The statue represents the Goddess of Justice, part of a statuary panoply on the façade of the National Bank of Romania headquarters in Bucharest, about which I wrote a very popular article last year and also published a photomontage a few weeks ago on this blog. The c19th sculptor modelled the goddess statue after that of an working or middle class Romanian woman from the area of Bucharest at the end of the Victorian era, a fact which gives it an air or remarkable realism and humanness. I photographed the statue on a very beautiful Bucharest September day last year, at the sunset, having excellent natural light conditions, which were enhanced by the nice yellowish texture of the stone from which the statue assembly is made. The photograph is, in my opinion, exceedingly appropriate for the subject of the book, and I am delighted that the obviously experienced and insightful picture researcher employed by Hart Publishing has chosen my photograph to illustrate this interesting forthcoming book.
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If you plan acquiring a historic property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advice you in sourcing the property, specialist research, planning permissions, restoration project management, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this weblog.
Valentin Mandache, architectural historian 