 The account was partly confirmed by Constantin Beldie, who also noted that, during those years, Alexandru Macedonski was "starving" and had to provide for "a house full of children".Zambaccian however cites a contrasting story once told by actor Ion Iancovescu.It suggests that, during the wartime famine, Macedonski asked Bogdan-Pitești to pay him 1 million lei for one of the few surviving copies of "Bronzes"; Bogdan-Pitești bluntly offered him 5 lei—Macedonski gave in, commenting that "he is capable of changing his mind, that con artist!"