 Later in life, being almost entirely reliant on his family's financial support, he acknowledged that his pursuits were "anti-economical", that to society he appeared as an "infirm".However, he took pride in noting that his art was without "commercial sense".As he recalled in adulthood, his passion for drawing was first cultivated during his time at the Boys' School in Piatra, and was picked up from a talented schoolmate, Mărgărint, "my first and final master".