Not going to lie, I always disliked still paintings as a kid as they made little sense, why paint objects with no story behind it… Lucian Pruna gives a bit of context to the day to day objects used by Romanians and it is easy to empathize. In my opinion, it gives the vibes of Dutch Realism. Found this definition: Dutch Realism focused on the ordinary depictions of people, specifically the middle class, which consisted of traders and merchants. When it came to painting, artists painted subject matter for merchants who were more focused on depicting what they have earned in life. Other popular painting genres were portrait and genre paintings of everyday people and their skills and various embellishments.
You won’t see any people but you get the sense of what it means to be Romanian, imagine seeing the cultural wealth of Romanians:
1.Romanians love mici and beer
2.Some products remain in your heart forever
I was born in the 90’s and some of my fondest memories involve: drinking some coca-cola (it was my favorite fizzy drink), getting Chipicao croissants where you would get Pokemon stickers for your collection, playing on that old school Tetris mini console, Turbo gum with car collections, and maybe a Kinder Surprise egg.
3.Remembering the old beauty care products that you used to see
Moms or grandmas would have these products, and you were bound to see them!
4.Loving the simple things in life
Most Romanians have that memory of going to your grandparents in the country side, picking some ripe summer tomatoes, eating with some soft cheese and a bit of onion and salt (green onion was my favorite).
5.Smoking is still a big thing in Romania
6.Going to the pastry shop
One of the biggest treat as a child growing up during a period of great inflation was being taken to the pastry shop to have an “amandina” or some other tasty treats. A coca-cola or pepsi were a nice treat when compared to the Romanian alternatives (I’m looking at you Frutti Fresh).
7.Rachiu/Palinca
Romanian plum brandy is a very delightful and strong home made brew. The glass depicted in the image is tipical for the consumption of rachiu and the plums tell a story of what the drink is made from.
8.Care package from your parents
Romanian parents love to see their kids well fed, so doesn’t matter how old you are, there is a chance you will get some home made food. The image bellow reminds me of how students, in student dorms get a delivery from their parents and they get to enjoy this holiday treat, you might know it as Olivier Salad or Russian salad, in Romania we call it salata beuf (boeuf in french means beef and salad, a meat salad with mayo and pickles).
9.New Year Eve Party
Bubly wine (we call it Champagne – Șampanie), fireworks and firecrackers. Is it dangerous? Yes it is… Do we love it? Yes! (on a more serious note I do encourage people to not use fireworks as it causes emotional distress to pets)
10. The famous Mona
No it’s not Monalisa, but it is a very beautiful individual that has captivated many people purchasing rubbing alchohol. And there are so many jokes to be made but we wrote an article on this topic: Mona – The Legend of Sanitary Alchohol
Dracula's Guide to Romania 
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