Ioan Costea

Ioan Costea painted saints with the same matter-of-fact touch he’d use for a neighbor’s portrait. In 1823, he set *Prohodul lui Iisus*—Jesus’ burial—inside a wood-beamed church, not a golden halo, so you almost smell the wax candles. That’s why he matters here: his scenes feel lived-in, not lifted from heaven. Look up the painting by name and you’ll see what I mean—real light, real shadows, no spiritual airbrushing.