Constantin Brancusi

Constantin Brancusi

The biggest sculptor of the XXth century, Constantin Brancusi the central figure in the modern art movement and a pioneer of abstractization is considered to be the father of modern sculpture. The uniqueness of his sculptures comes from their elegance and the sensible use of his materials combining the simplicity of popular Romanian art and the elegant Parisian avangardism.

The most important characteristics of Brancusi’s art are probably the verticality, horizontality, the density and the interest he shows in using light and space. His work had a major influence in the modern concept of “form” in sculpting, painting and drawing.

Brancusi was born in 1876 in the Habita village.. During his childhood he learned to sculpt wood, to manufacture different household utensils, because at that time in Romania those were made out of wood as were the facades and piers. The style of these ornaments will influence Brancus’s work. Brancusi used to state that his way of life was influenced by his country of origin and that means simplicity, common sense and love for nature.

When he was nine years old he left home and had to take care of himself working for six years in a little shop in Craiova helping the owner continuing to sculpt in wood. He manufactured a violin for himself and drew the attention of a client. This client helped Brancusi to get addmited to the School of Arts in Craiova.

In 1889 after he graduated , Brancusi got into the School of fine arts in Bucharest. Although he felt he was drawn more to the art and sculptures made by independents rather than those of academicians inside the school the artist studied throuly anatomy and modeling

“Ecorsul”, a sculpture made during that period of time 1902 to be more precise, was bought by the school and was used as a model of anatomy for a long time. This work reveals an excellent knowledge of the human body. In 1903 he got his first request to do a sculpture, and that was the bust of General Carol Davila , the founder of the Romanian medical school.

During the time he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Bucharest he received many awards for his sculptures, among them an award for the bust of Vitellius and a bronze medal for the Laocoon bust. Also , during this period Brancusi starts to feel captivated by the works of Auguste Rodin ( whose concepts indignated the academicians but enthusiasted the avantgardists) and the artistic movement outside the frontiers of his country. This determines him to go to Paris by foot , with his backpack and he arrives there on the 14th of July.

Between 1904 and 1906 he attends the National Academy Of Fine Arts under the guidance and teachings of Antonin mercier.In 1906 he has his first exhibition in Paris at the National Society Salon of Fine Arts and then at the Fall Salon.

His first works , classical style, displaying a strong energy were sculpted under the influence of Auguste Rodin. Brancusi worked for a while as a practician in Rodin’s shop and then he left in order to find his own identity , saying that nothing can grow under the shadow of a big tree. He starts to develop his own style. Three years after he arrives in Paris he sculpts “Prayer”, the statue of a girl standing on her knees. This work representsthe first step toward his evolution in simplifying forms. That same year he approaches the direct cut technique for the sculpture “Head of a girl” and explains: “real is the essence of things not their exterior”.

The influence of Rodin appears for one last time in the first version of “The sleeping muse” in 1908 ( a girl’s face is sculpted in a block of marble with no particular shape). Also that year , he sculpts his first major work of art, “The kiss”, in which a boy and a girl hug eachother and form a perfect simetrical block. The sculptor creates a geometrization of the shapes thing that will become his signature and will influence many artists. In 1910 , Brancusi creates a new version of “The sleeping muse” , this time in bronze with its features reduced to the point the sculpture has the shape of an egg.. This version is redone by the artist after 1912 many times each version having a different special characteristic.

The egg theme appears very often in Brancusi’s art: Prometheus in 1911 and New Born are just a few of his sculptures involving this theme. This tendency leads to the creation of a pure egg shaped form: in marble- “The beginning of the world in 1924” or in bronze “Sculpture for a blind man” in 1920.

Eliminating all references to muscles he rediscovers the platonic idea of pure shape