The princely crown made of pearls – pure ornaments, born of suffering – is the royal symbol, existing before Her marriage, foreshadowing to the Child Princess the future Queen’s toils and trials. Her veiled look tells of worries, troubles, sadness and compassion – the infinitude of a soul that has cried, laughed, steeled itself and burned for the hope and pains of the Country. The veil hides the light of Her northern locks, gathers in its modest folds the call for the head dress worn in the Romanian villages flourishing at the foot of the mountains, and the humble bow before the Veil of the Intercession of the Theotokos, the Mother of God – our refuge from needs and sorrows.
All that palpitates within Her being, who gives Herself unwaveringly to duty, is closed –exposed in the boundlessness of Her tireless sacrifice, embraced by the gauze covered frame, a symbol of Her World War I support for hospitals, triage and sanitary trains. The gauze is another covering for the wounds caressed with tears and the softness of a mother, wife, and daughter at the bedside of those wounded in the battles for the defence of the Fatherland. Inscribed on the frame is Queen Mary’s most beautiful poem of love and hope, the last earthly thoughts in the writing of Her testament to Her people, and on Her lips – remnants of unspoken words of the sadness that followed Her all Her life. The most faithful soldier of the Country, She remains in the history and memory of the people as the Mother of all Romanians, while Ciprian Istrate’s painting is a deep and beautiful metaphor of Queen Mary. Cătălina Opaschi, historian.
