Awkward Station Debuts before National Museum of History

A new statue was unveiled on the steps of the National Museum of History in Bucharest to wide criticism and more that a little bit of mockery. The statue, which had been under plastic wrap since November of last year, was created by Vasile Gorduz, an important Romanian artist who died in 2008. The bronze statue depicts Roman Emperor Trajan carrying the Dacian wolf, representing the myth of the Roman-Dacian genesis which gave birth to the Romanian people.

However, the statue nearly didn't see the light of day as Bucharest City Hall and the National Museum of History argued over the controversial work. Many have called out the statue for its "doubtful artistic quality" - which were the words of the Museum's director Ernest Oberlnder Trnoveanu himself. One woman said, "I have never seen anything so grotesque, a wolf with a pitbull's head, a lizard's tail and a tumor on its neck, carried by a guy who is visibly embarrassed by his nudity".

While the statue will remain on the steps of the Museum for the time being, even the institution's director has said that it will surely not stay there for long.