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THE INTERIOR OF THE PEASANT HOUSE

The study of the architecture of the interior, made on a long period of time, leads to interesting conclusions concerning the cultural unity of the territory of our country in spite of the fact that it is conditional by natural environment, by occupations, the stage of the development of technique at a given moment, by cultural exchanges.

The solutions adopted for the distribution of space within the framework of the dwelling are, also, in close connection with the way of organizing of the family. The interior bears, at the same time, the strong print of the opinion of the respective community, with regard to the way of arrangement of the dwelling from the practical and aesthetical viewpoint.

Beyond these decisive factors in the organization of the dwelling, which are of social and economic character, the interior constitutes a faithful mirror of the material and social situation of the owner.

In far off periods the interior of the dwelling of Mehedinti makes itself conspicuous by a perfect unity, expressed in the basic elements : the number and the destination of the rooms, the heating systems, the disposition of the benches, the bed and the table, in the decorative style.

Within this unity there is shown a zone diversity which gives originality to the dwelling of this part of the country. Thus, if from the viewpoint of the elements of old tradition, the aspect of the Mehedinti interior appears as unitary on the whole territory from the standpoint of the disposition of the objects with decorative character, the interiors may be grouped in two distinct sub-zones :

— northern sub-zone, hills and mountains ;
— central and southern sub-zone.

Adding to these the differentiations within the framework of each sub-zone, of each village, the endowment of the circumstances specific to the phantasy of the inhabitants, we can realize what this diversity means.

The unity of the Mehedinti interior

In the northern sub-zone the plan of the house is characterized by the existence of the partial veranda and of the over dimensional room. Within the framework of this plan there are included the entrance hall and the room, the house having one entrance only. At the beginning of the 20th century, to the traditional plan it was added one more room on the other side, and the veranda extends along the whole front side.

In the central and southern sub-zone, the plan includes an entrance hall and two rooms in front of which the veranda lies.

The diversity of these traditional plans has especially been strengthened in the last thirty years.

An element of a century-old tradition, preserved in Mehedinti is the open fire place with suspended chimney. As a characteristic of the Mehedinti area we mention the semicircular shape of the fire place and its arrangement in the corner of the room or in the central part of the median wall. In the central and southern sub-zone, the fire place has a rectangular form, being always arranged in the corner of the room. In the disposition of the fixed furniture — beds, benches — the interior harmonizes with the forms of structure specific to the whole country.

The diversity of the interior

Within the framework of the peasant dwelling of Mehedinti the rooms fulfill multiple functions. The entrance hall, in which the fire place is to be found, serves as a kitchen, living room, place for eating, pantry. The second room was used for sleeping, for weaving and for receiving guests etc.

The function of the room determines the content and the way of the arrangement of the furniture and of the other objects.

As the plans of dwelling are diversified there emerge the unfunctional rooms and at the same time the simplification of the organization in the dwellings with two or three rooms, where the structure of the arrangement is extremely unitary on the whole surface of the county, which can be comprised in two models :

a) houses with bed in continuation of the stove and angle-disposed benches ;
b) house with beds disposed in parallel and high table in front of the window ; there is a sensible differentiation with regard to the arrangement of minute furniture and textiles from the decorative point of view.

The preoccupation of the man to arrange his living space depending on his practical and aesthetic demands is expressed in an uninterrupted process in which the merge of the functional character with the beautiful one has taken place in accordance with the economic and social conditions as well as with the creative capacity of each people.

Within this process of continuous improvement there have taken place in the county certain differentiations, reaching gradually to two big categories of interiors, namely those arranged on the traditional line and those which inaugurate specific, urban arrangements in the rural area.

Leaving aside the elements of structure, as regards the decorative aspect the interior of Mehedinti appears differentiated.

In the northern sub-zone it appears as a distinct note a certain simplicity, the elements with decorative character being less numerous. Together with the furniture, richly decorated, there appear woolen fabrics in more temperate colors and some towels with motifs in red and black. With this model of interior it is also made conspicuous the "culme" (a wooden pillar set along the wall, above the bed) for garments, which fulfils an important decorative role.

In the central and southern sub-zone, the characteristic note is constituted by the large number of decorative fabrics with a vivid chromatics, grouped especially in the corner with the bed.

Following the way in which the decorative conception has evolved with regard to the organization of the interior in Mehedinti, we see an evident simplicity for the 18th century, a manifest preference for the pastel colors.

The development of the plans for the dwelling and together with this the increase of the space that could be affected to the interior decorations and the introduction of some new materials, have had a positive effect on the interior. Towards the end of the 19th century, but more especially in the last decades of our century the aesthetical conception has changed. In the interior of the dwelling there begin to appear a series of objects with a craftsmanship character. The introduction of these objects and the changes from the interior of the peasant house are taking place in the context of some more profound transformations occurred in the village life, which affect all the spheres — architecture, clothing, peasant industries, marking the approach of the rural civilization to the specific urban forms of life.

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