PHOTO More than two million euros have been reduced to ashes in the fire that destroyed the old villa of Irinel Columbeanu. What the inside of the house looked like before

According to him, the only work of art that escaped the fire, because it collapsed in the pool, was the statue, signed by Sabin Bălaşa, located in the middle of the living room of the house. The villa and art objects were not insured.

“Snagov’s house is very special because it has a special history. It was built by Ion Columbeanu, with the help of an American architect specially brought to Romania for this project. The building was designed to house 15 families – this explains the 15 rooms , each with its own bathroom and dressing room – and had a rest area, reception area, professional kitchen, which could provide everything necessary for the preparation of breakfasts, lunches and dinners, terrace areas, party areas, entertainment, with sound system in the patio, indoor pool with outdoor exit, tennis court or pontoon for 10 boats.

To understand how well it was thought, I also tell you that the village had its own underground glacier, where the blocks of ice were kept, so that they would last as long as possible.

Everything was done to perfection by this American architect to be exploited. As far as I know, Mr. Columbeanu, when he assumed the representation of Alcatel, also wanted to welcome in Snagov, those who came to Romania, in the interests of business, “said the representative of the Regatta company, specialized in real estate.

Eduard Uzunov claims that many things have changed, however, since the construction of the villa and until now, both in terms of the fate of the construction and of its members.

“One of the most publicized news of the early days was that the artist Sabin Bălaşa would have received 1,000,000 dollars, for making a mural in the Columbeanu villa. It is unknown if he is just a marketing legend. However, the truth is that this mural in the town was not the only one, and the works had not been done solely by Sabin Bălaşa. Another mural was signed by Sabin’s son, Tudor Bălaşa, and a third by Anna Lesko. There was another signed work or two in the room, also signed by Tudor Bălaşa, and in one room I found several works by Sabin Bălaşa, depicting the 1999-2000 portraits of Ion and Irinel Columbeanu.

At this point, the entire mural is ash. She was completely affected! It practically no longer exists! It was a special painting in size and in the fact that the work was done in a house. I knew another mural, in the house of a famous doctor, signed Marcel Chirnoaga, but otherwise I did not find much, at least in contemporary houses. Of course, in palaces, this type of work is common and we can find many cases in which painters like Mirea, Luchian or Verona have left their mark and paintings on many ceilings or walls of special palaces and special houses ”, said Eduard Uzunov .

Among the many objects affected by the fire is a statue of Sabin Bălaşa, which everyone thought was made of marble, but was actually made of molten plastic. He escaped behind the floor where he practically collapsed into the empty pool below the living room, one of the few places in the house that was not affected by the fire.

“This sculpture is the only one that still exists of all the works of art in the house and although it was not affected by the flames, it was smoked with great force. If we turn our attention to the furniture, I can say that all the contemporary pieces were exceptional, from the sofas and armchairs to the Poltrona Frau tables and chairs, which are of very, very good quality and extremely expensive. The antique Art Nouveau furniture and the spectacular mirror in the house had been bought by the Columbeanu family from an art dealer who told me that the pieces had belonged to Elena Lupescu, ”says the representative of the Rotenberg-Uzunov art gallery.

The specialist says that it is difficult to make a very precise estimate, taking into account the value of the works of art, furniture or luxury items that were still in the house, some signed by Andy Warhol, others Versace or Nemţoi.

However, an “oichiometric valuation” can be made, according to Eduard Uzunov, given that the property was valued between 4.5 and 5 million euros and had been put up for sale for 3.9 million euros.

“Now there are 10,000 square meters of land, the spectacular fence, which is also very important, the tennis court and the outbuildings, which were not affected. However, the same cannot be said for the house! If I had to force a valuation, with my mind’s eye, I could say that the damage exceeds 2,000,000 euros ”, concluded the specialist in art and luxury real estate.

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