Guggenheim Museum New York
Celebrates Constantin Brancusi, Romanian Sculptor
COLLECTION ONLINE
Constantin Brancusi
B. 1876, HOBITZA, ROMANIA; D. 1957, PARIS
Constantin Brancusi was born February 19, 1876, in Hobitza, Romania. He studied art at the Scoala de Meserii (School of Arts and Crafts) in Craiova from 1894 to 1898 and at the Scoala Natzionala de Arte Frumoase (National School of Fine Arts) in Bucharest from 1898 to 1902. He moved to Paris in 1904, eager to continue his education in the major artistic center. The following year, he enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Brancusi secured a position in Auguste Rodin’s studio in 1907, but soon parted ways with the established sculptor, claiming, “I felt that I was not giving anything by following the conventional mode of sculpture.”
Soon after 1907, Brancusi’s mature period commenced. He began utilizing abstracted forms and sculpting by direct carving, a method characterized by working directly with the material, as opposed to the significantly more common practice of making a model to be cast or executed by others. As his work evolved, Brancusi became immersed in the Parisian avant-garde. Though he was never a member of any organized art movement, his friends included Marcel Duchamp, Fernand Léger, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, and Henri Rousseau. In 1913, five of Brancusi’s sculptures were included in the Armory Show in New York. Alfred Stieglitz presented the first solo show of Brancusi’s work at 291, his New York gallery, in 1914. In 1927, a historic trial was initiated in the United States to determine whether a version of Brancusi’s Bird in Space was liable for duty as a manufactured object or as a work of art. The court decided in 1928 that the sculpture was a work of art.
In 1935, Brancusi was commissioned to create a war memorial in Târgu Jiu, Romania, for which he designed a sculptural ensemble that includes The Table of Silence, The Gate of Kiss, and a monumental Endless Column. The project embodies the concerns most essential to Brancusi’s art: the idealization of aesthetic form; the integration of architecture, sculpture, and furniture; and the poetic evocation of spiritual thought. After 1938, Brancusi continued to work in Paris. His last sculpture, a plaster Grand Coq, was completed in 1949. In the years following, he continued to adjust and refine sculptural groupings in his studio, a project that epitomized his interest in creating dynamic dialogues among various works and the spaces they inhabit. In 1955, the first retrospective of Brancusi’s work was held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, before traveling to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Brancusi died on March 16, 1957, in Paris.
ARTWORK BY CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI
Constantin Brancusi, Adam and Eve, 1921 (Adam and Eve executed separately ca. 1916). Chestnut (Adam) and oak (Eve) on limestone base, 94 x 18 3/4 x 18 1/4 inches (238.8 x 47.6 x 46.4 cm) overall
Constantin Brancusi
Adam and Eve
Constantin Brancusi, The Miracle (Seal [I]), ca. 1930–32. Marble on limestone base, 64 1/4 (163.2 cm) high x 58 3/4 inches (149.2 cm) inches in diameter
Constantin Brancusi
The Miracle (Seal [I])
Constantin Brancusi, Bird in Space, 1932–40. Polished brass, 59 7/16 inches (151 cm) high, including base
Constantin Brancusi
Bird in Space
Constantin Brancusi, King of Kings, ca. 1938. Oak, 118 3/8 x 19 x 18 1/8 inches (300 x 48.3 x 46 cm)
Constantin Brancusi
King of Kings
Constantin Brancusi, Flying Turtle, 1940–45. Marble on limestone base, 28 1/8 x 34 3/4 x 27 1/4 inches (71.3 x 88.3 x 69 cm) overall
Constantin Brancusi
Flying Turtle
Constantin Brancusi, Portrait of George, 1911. Marble, 9 3/8 x 10 1/4 x 8 inches (23.8 x 26 x 20.3 cm)
Constantin Brancusi
Portrait of George
Constantin Brancusi, Maiastra, 1912 (?). Polished brass, 28 3/4 x 7 7/8 x 7 7/8 inches (73 x 20 x 20 cm) overall
Constantin Brancusi
Maiastra
Constantin Brancusi, Muse, 1912. Marble, 17 3/4 x 9 x 6 3/4 inches (45 x 23 x 17 cm)
Constantin Brancusi
Muse
Constantin Brancusi, Watchdog, 1916. Oak, 29 x 15 3/16 x 14 1/2 inches (73.7 x 38.6 x 36.8 cm)
Constantin Brancusi
Watchdog
Constantin Brancusi, Little French Girl (The First Step [III]), ca. 1914–18 (mounted by museum, 1953). Oak on pine base, figure: 49 x 9 3/8 x 9 1/4 inches (124.5 x 23.8 x 23.5 cm); base: 11 x 15 1/4 x 13 inches (27.9 x 38.7 x 33 cm)
Constantin Brancusi
Little French Girl (The First Step [III])
Constantin Brancusi, Oak base, 1920. Oak, 38 3/8 x 18 5/8 x 18 1/2 inches (97.5 x 47.3 x 47 cm)
Constantin Brancusi
Oak base
Constantin Brancusi, The Sorceress, 1916–24. Walnut on limestone base, 44 3/4 x 19 1/2 x 25 1/2 inches (113.7 x 49.5 x 64.8 cm) overall
Constantin Brancusi
The Sorceress
For fifty years I have been a Document Examiner and that is how I earn my living.
For over 50 years I have also been a publicist for actors, singers, writers, composers, artists, comedians, and many progressive non-profit organizations.
I am a Librettist-Composer of a Broadway musical called, "Nellie Bly" and I am in the process of making small changes to it.
In addition, I have written over 100 songs that would be considered "popular music" in the genre of THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK. My family consists of four branches. The Norwegians and The Italians and the Norwegian-Americans and the Italian Americans.