Old woman with a group of children, Cornova, Bessarabia, 1931

Iosif Berman · 1931

The photo comes from the monographic research undertaken by the Sociological School from Bucharest under the direction of Prof. Dimitrie Gusti in Bessarabia, Cornova locality, jud. Orhei (today the Republic of Moldova, Ungheni district), from the hilly region of Codrului, on the valley of Cula, with 380 Romanian families. During the investigation we conducted the second sociological documentary of the School, “Un village basarabean, Cornova” (operator T. Posmantir, directors - Em. Bucharest-H. Stahl, At.GolÎn) resumed by the director Pompiliu Gâlopenu under the name “Cornova - goodbye after 60 years.” From the team that participated in the shooting in 1931 (25 June - 13 August) was present from the 55 researchers only Gh. Focsa, the first director of the Village Museum from Bucharest. The local excavations also covered the problem of children, the main aspects studied being birth, infant mortality, health, education. Children in the picture accompanied by an old woman are dressed, like this one, with clothes worked like in town - with dresses, skirts and coat blouses girls and woman, boys with pants and jacket of the same material and with a cap with a cozoroc on their head. Settled next to the gate of the church, they look to the goal of the camera behind which is Joseph Berman (1892 -1941), journalist and official photographer of the Royal Court, who accompanied the teams of Professor Gusti in almost all the village monography campaigns. One of his great qualities was the capture of the snapshots of the village life. He was also an uneventful portrait artist.