Allegory of Romanian politics from a left-liberal perspective, comparing the recently deceased <i>Domnitor</i> Alexandru Ioan Cuza (on the right), deposed by a coup in 1866, with the incumbent Carol of Hohenzollern. The original caption reveals an exchange between <i>Ghimpele</i> and the conservative review <i>Pressa</i>, which had published a sympathetic overview of Cuza's reign: <i>Consecința logică a necrologuluĭ PRESSEI, făcută reposatuluĭ Cuza, séŭ «șapte anĭ de ilusiunĭ perdute». GHIMPELE mulțumesce PRESSEI, pentru că a fostŭ și ea uă singură dată leală în fața faptelorŭ séle</i> ("The logical consequence of PRESSA's obituary for the deceased Cuza, or «seven years of squandered illusions». GHIMPELE extends its thans to PRESSA for being, this one time, honest in depicting the his deeds.").<br>Cuza's bust sits on a solid base listing the cornerstones of his rule: union (between Moldavia and Wallachia—also depicted in the respective emblems on each side of the column), "national dignity", land reform, the penal code, and the secularization of monastery estates; at the very base, a slab marked <i>ROMANISMŬ</i> ("ROMANIANISM").<br>Carol, dressed and armed as a brigand, steps over ruins which contain most of Cuza's achievements, and also over <i>CONSTITUȚIUNEA</i> ("CONSTITUTION"). His pistols are held in place by a belt marked <i>CĂĬ FERATE</i> ("RAILWAYS")—highlighting Carol's involvement in the Strousberg and Oppenheim infrastructure projects, and the resulting scandals.
uncredited
<i>Ghimpele</i>, 13/1873