In terms of artistic importance the collections here are second only to those at the National Museum of Art. Firstly, however, a few words about the building. The Casa Romanit was constructed in 1822 as a private residence, before being bought by the state in 1883 to serve as the country's supreme court. After the communist takeover in the 1940s it was used as a dumping ground for the collections of wealthy Romanians not allowed to retain their art by the regime. There are some fantastic works on show, including paintings by all of Romania's greatest artists, including Theodor Aman, Nicolae Grigorescu, Ioan Andreescu, Nicolae Tonitza, Gheorghe Petraşcu, Theodor Pallady, Lucian Grigorescu and Camil Ressu.