Ion Jalea (; 19 May 1887 – 7 November 1983) was a Romanian sculptor, medallist, titular member of the Romanian Academy. Biography Artistic studies Jalea was born on 19 May 1887 in the little town of Casimcea, Tulcea County. His family moved in 1893 to Ciocârlia de Jos village, from where he went on to the Mircea cel Bătrân High School in Constanța. He then studied at the School of Arts and Crafts (in Romanian, Școala de Arte și Meserii) and from 1909 at the National University of Arts in Bucharest, where he was the pupil of the renowned Romanian sculptors Frederic Storck and Dimitrie Paciurea. His first personal exhibit occurred in May 1915. Starting in 1916, his artistic education was pursued in Paris at the Académie Julian. At the time, he worked alongside Henri Coandă as apprentice in sculpture in Auguste Rodin's atelier, after which he continued in Antoine Bourdelle's studio. World War I After Romania entered World War I in August 1916 on the side of the Alies, Jalea returned home. In 1917, he volunteered into the Romanian Army, and fought in a series of battles on the Moldavian front, at Corbu, Măxineni, and Nămoloasa. On August 17, 1917, he was severely wounded; after being treated at Galați and then Iași, doctors managed to save his left foot, but his left arm had to be amputated next to the shoulder. For his valor, he was decorated with the Romanian Order of the Crown, Knight rank, and the French Croix de Guerre, which was conferred to him by general Henri Mathias Berthelot. Career After recuperating, despite being an amputee, Jalea continued to dedicate his life to sculpture, as he did before. He became a well-known sculptor by working with his right arm only, and his greatest achievements were after he lost his arm. Jalea won a prize at the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, received one of the Grand Prizes at the Paris Exhibition of 1937 for the monument Romania and its provinces, and participated in the 1939 New York World's Fair. In 1932, he became professor at the Bucharest National University of Arts, and in 1942 director at the Ministry of Arts. Sculptures During his long artistic career, Jalea authored numerous monuments, statues, busts, reliefs, and allegorical compositions, aiming to glorify significant facts or personalities. His sculpture technique blends the pictorial quality of the shaped surface — the influence