This paper discusses G. Călinescu’s work in the field of Eminescu studies in the 1930s. Even though the author himself underplays the importance of this work, describing it as a mere preparation for greater endeavours (e.g. writing his celebrated History of Romanian Literature from Its Beginnings until Today, 1941), one should visualise this activity as a complex „monograph project” concerning Eminescu from a threefold perspective: a biography, an ample exegesis, and a noteworthy editorial enterprise. The posterity of this project in the field of Eminescu studies in Romania and abroad has been remarkable, and Călinescu’s suggestions still hold, but a change has taken place recently. Biography has taken a turn for methodological reflection with Ilina Gregory, thus returning to a point of view that had been formulated by Călinescu in 1932. Also, the exegesis has become more concerned with questions of reception and context, echoing Călinescu’s own emphasis on how a reader approaches Eminescu’s texts in his studies from 1934-1936. At the same time, Călinescu’s discovery of the posthumous works of Eminescu has influenced not only critics, but generations of poets, especially in the 1950s. All these points to a prominent position of Călinescu’s critical stance in Romanian literature even today.