Cultural historian Angelo Mitchievici proposes that, modelling himself on Péladan, Bogdan-Pitești was becoming the "" of oriental Symbolism. As "Ion Doican" (or "Duican"), he contributed to "Ileana" essays praising various contemporary painters: Arthur Verona, George Demetrescu Mirea, and, most of all, Luchian. "Ileana" only published a few issues before closing down in 1901. Bogdan-Pitești's collaborator Bacalbașa, known by then as a dramatist, also attended, but drifted away from the group in 1900, giving up his position as editor of "Ileana". A similar split occurred between Luchian and his patron, sparked when Bogdan-Pitești made some favorable comments on Stăncescu's work, and probably took several years to mend. Over that decade, Bogdan-Pitești had also become one of "Literatorul"s main financial backers.