The Youth Statue is one of the historical monuments from the county of Constanța. This has been executed by the sculptor Boris Carages in the year 1962.
Boris Caragea (born on the 11th/24th of January 1906, Balcic, Bulgaria – deceased on the 8th of August 1982, Bucharest) was a Romanian sculptor, correspondent member of the Romanian Academy of 1955.
In his youth, he was a boatman in Balcic. After the First World War, between 1924 – 1925, he took drawing lessons with Hrandt Avakian. One year later, supported by the sculptor Zoe Băicoianu, he registered at the School of Beaux – Arts from Bucharest, where he had as professors Frederic Storck and Oscar Han. He perfected his studies with Dimitrie Paciurea, working two years in the master’s workshop, after, in 1932, he had won the Paciurea scholarship.
At a given time, because of the lack of financial resources, Boris Caragea wanted to leave school. Oscar Han helped him to pass his exams from two years in only one year and, therefore, Caragea managed to finish his studies.
He made himself known even starting with 1933, immediately after graduating the Academy, when he exhibited his first works of little sculpture at the Official saloon, getting himself noticed by the means of the construction of the volumes and the finesse of the modeling.
In 1934 he opened his first work exhibit with the folkloric subject in which he also exhibited a few of inspiration from Dobrogea: “Femeie cu cobiliță”, “Dans dobrogean” or “Pescarii”.
Also in 1934 he travelled for study purposes throughout the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, halting at Constantinople, Athens, Alger, Marseille, Cassis and Neapole. In 1937 he received an award for sculpture of the Ministry of Arts. The works from the first creation phase of the artist had as subjects religious scenes or portraits executed with artistry.
The second phase made Caragea an important representative of the socialist realism, he becoming an official sculptor of the communist ideology, in which he sincerely believed, being also influences by the spirit of the times. In this phase, Boris Caragea was dedicated to the exterior space, favorable to the architectonic ensembles. In the year 1951, Boris Caragea was chosen as president of the Union of Plastic Artists, at whose command he was until 1957, and in the year 1962 he was named as president of the Council of plastic arts from the State Committee for Culture and Art. Radu Bogdan relates the fact that, after Boris Caragea, who was also the artist of the Royal House, he arrived on the occupation of president of UAP, he would have destroyed all the works conceived before 1944, abandoning in this way his past.
He was chosen as correspondent member of the “Academy of the Romanian Popular Republic”, he received the title of “Emeritus master of art” and, somewhere later, the one of “Artist of the people”. He was awarded a couple of times the “State Award”.
