Constantin Brâncuși is considered the father of modern sculpture. A peasant child from Gorj, he made his way on foot to Paris and revolutionised the art of the 20th century through simple, essential forms inspired by Romanian folk tradition.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Key moments in his life
- 19 February 1876 – born in Hobița (Gorj County), into a peasant family.
- 1894–1898 – studies at the School of Arts and Crafts in Craiova.
- 1898–1902 – attends the National School of Fine Arts in Bucharest. He creates the famous Écorché, an anatomical study.
- 1903–1904 – sets out for Paris, covering much of the way on foot, through Munich and Switzerland.
- 1905–1907 – studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1907 he works for a few weeks in Auguste Rodin’s studio, which he leaves saying: “Nothing grows in the shade of great trees.”
- 1907–1908 – creates The Prayer and The Kiss, works with which he breaks definitively with the academic tradition.
- 1913 – exhibits at the Armory Show in New York. His fame in America grows rapidly.
- 1927–1928 – wins the lawsuit against the American customs authorities, who had refused to consider Bird in Space a work of art. The court ruling is a landmark moment for modern art.
- 1937–1938 – creates the monumental ensemble at Târgu Jiu, dedicated to the heroes of the First World War.
- 16 March 1957 – dies in Paris. He is buried at Montparnasse Cemetery. He leaves his studio to the French state.
Major works
Sculptures: The Prayer (1907), The Kiss (1907–1908), The Wisdom of the Earth (1907), Măiastra (1910–1912), Mademoiselle Pogany (1912), Sleeping Muse (1910), The Beginning of the World (1920), Bird in Space (1923), The Fish (1926).
The Târgu Jiu ensemble (1937–1938): Table of Silence, Gate of the Kiss, Endless Column.
Legacy
In 2024, the Monumental Ensemble of Târgu Jiu was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. His birthday, 19 February, is celebrated in Romania as “Brâncuși Day”. His Paris studio was reconstructed next to the Centre Pompidou, and his works are in the world’s great museums, from Paris to New York and Philadelphia.