The Strzygowski school of Cluj. An episode in interwar Romanian cultural politics

This article examines the work of Coriolan Petranu (1893-1945), a Romanian art historian who studied the vernacular art and architecture of Transylvania. Petranu was a graduate of the Vienna School, having studied with Josef Strzygowski, and following the model of his teacher, sought to challenge existing art historical hierarchies by drawing attention to the architecture of its Romanian population. Transylvania was a contested territory, and this article examines the ways in which Petranu became enmeshed in the rivalries between Hungary and Romania over the cultural affiliation of the region and how his study of vernacular culture reflected wider debates in the early twentieth century over the nature of Romanian identity.