An independent liberal deputy by January 1871, Chițu presented a motion to honor the Italian unification. His speech alluded to the French Third Republic as Romania's "more glorious sister"—read by Marton as an echo of liberal-and-Factionalist Pan-Latinism, as well as an attempt to rekindle solidarity after France's defeat. From September of that same year, he and Theodorian ran a Craiova printing press where they also put out a literary newspaper called "Oltenia". Also a book editor, Chițu signed a contract with Constantin D. Aricescu for his monograph on the Wallachian uprising of 1821. Unusually, it stipulated that Aricescu would have to provide a posthumous portrait of the rebel leader, Tudor Vladimirescu, to be completed by Nicolae Grigorescu—"the only one competent enough to give form to this idea", according to Chițu. In that context, the editor mentioned his admiration for Vladimirescu, a "libertarian martyr who had sacrificed himself for national rights and for the betterment of working classes". Chițu finally took personal charge of this project, but failed in his bid to sign up Grigorescu; the task fell on another painter, Theodor Aman, "with whom [Chițu] had a long-standing friendship." Aman's work is arguably the best known among Vladimirescu's depictions.