The Art – Way of Communication

1. The Art – Way of Communication LLP COMENIUS This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication (communication) reflects the views only of the author and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of information contained therein.

2. The Art – Way of Communication Constantin Brâncuşi sculptor 1876-1957 LLP COMENIUS

3. The Art – Way of Communication LLP COMENIUS Constantin Brâncuşi (February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957), Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His abstract style emphasizes clean geometrical lines that balance forms inherent in his materials with the symbolic allusions of representational art. Considered the pioneer of modernism Brâncuşi is called the Patriarch of Modern Sculpture.

4. The Art – Way of Communication LLP COMENIUS Brâncuşi grew up in the village of Hobiţa Romania, Gorj, near Târgu Jiu, close to Romania's Carpathian Mountains, an area known for its rich tradition of folk crafts, particularly woodcarving. Geometric patterns of the region are seen in his later works. His parents Nicolae and Maria Brâncuşi were poor peasants who earned a meager living through back-breaking labor; from the age of seven, Constantin herded the family's flock of sheep. He showed talent for carving objects out of wood, and often ran away from home to escape the bullying of his father and older brothers.

5. The Art – Way of Communication At the age of nine, Brâncuşi left the village to work in the nearest large town. At 11 he went into the service of a grocer in Slatina; and then he became a domestic in a public house in Craiova where he remained for several years. When he was 18, impressed by Brâncuşi's talent for carving, an industrialist entered him in the Craiova School of Arts and Crafts, where he pursued his love for woodworking, graduating with honors in 1898. LLP COMENIUS

6. The Art – Way of Communication In 1903 Brâncuşi traveled to Munich, and from there to Paris. In Paris, he was welcomed by the community of artists and intellectuals brimming with new ideas. He worked for two years in the workshop of Antonin Mercié of the École des Beaux-Arts, and was invited to enter the workshop of Auguste Rodin. Even though he admired the eminent Rodin he left the Rodin studio after only two months, saying, "Nothing can grow under big trees." LLP COMENIUS

7. The Art – Way of Communication After leaving Rodin's workshop, Brâncuşi began developing the revolutionary style for which he is known. His first commissioned work, "The Prayer", was part of a gravestone memorial. It depicts a young woman crossing herself as she kneels, and marks the first step toward abstracted, non-literal representation, and shows his drive to depict "not the outer form but the idea, the essence of things." He also began doing more carving, rather than the method popular with his contemporaries, that of modeling in clay or plaster which would be cast in metal, and by 1908 he worked almost exclusively by carving. LLP COMENIUS

8. The Art – Way of Communication His works became popular in France, Romania and the United States. Collectors, notably John Quinn, bought his pieces, and reviewers praised his works. In 1913 Brâncuşi's work was displayed at both the Salon des Indépendants and the first exhibition in the U.S. of modern art, the Armory Show. LLP COMENIUS

9. The Art – Way of Communication Selected works Famous Brâncuşi works include The Sleeping Muse (1908), The Kiss (1908), Prometheus (1911), Mademoiselle Pogany (1913), The Newborn (1915), Bird in Space (1919) and The Column of the Infinite, popularly known as The Endless Column (1938). Both Bird in Space and Sleeping Muse I are sculptures of animate objects; however, unlike ones from Ancient Greece or Rome, or those from the High Renaissance period, these works of art are more abstract in style. LLP COMENIUS

10. The Art – Way of Communication LLP COMENIUS Bird in Space is a series from the 1920s. One of these, constructed in 1925 using wood, stone, and marble (Richler 178) stands around 72 inches tall and consists of a narrow feather standing erect on a wooden base. Similar models, but made from materials such as bronze, were also produced by Brâncuşi and placed in exhibitions. Sleeping Muse I has different versions as well; one, from 1909–10, is made of marble and measures 6 ¾ in. in height (Adams 549). This is a model of a head, without a body, with markings to show features such as hair, nose, lips, and closed eyes.

11. The Art – Way of Communication The Sleeping Muse LLP COMENIUS

12. The Art – Way of Communication The Kiss LLP COMENIUS

13. The Art – Way of Communication Prometheus LLP COMENIUS

14. The Art – Way of Communication Mademoiselle Pogany LLP COMENIUS

15. The Art – Way of Communication The Newborn LLP COMENIUS

16. The Art – Way of Communication Bird in Space LLP COMENIUS

17. The Art – Way of Communication LLP COMENIUS In 1938, he finished the World War I monument in Târgu-Jiu where he had spent much of his childhood. "Table of Silence", "The Gate of the Kiss", and “The Endless Column" commemorate the courage and sacrifice of Romanian civilians who in 1916 fought off a German invasion. The restoration of this ensemble was spearheaded by the World Monuments Fund and was completed in 2004. The three sculptural elements are disposed on an axis 1,275 meters long, oriented from West to East, in the Central Park.

18. The Art – Way of Communication The Table of Silence (Masa Tăcerii) Is made in limestone and it has the following dimensions: panel diameter 2, 15 meters, thick 0,43 m and the leg is 2 m in diameter and 0,45 m thick. According to the exegetes of the Brancusian art, the Table of Silence represents the table around which gather the soldiers before confronting their enemy. At the same time, the chairs stand for the time disposed in hourglasses. Some make an analogy with The Last Supper of Leonardo da Vinci. LLP COMENIUS

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20. The Art – Way of Communication The Chairs Alley comes next,representing those who participate without any implication, waiting for the end. LLP COMENIUS

21. The Art – Way of Communication The Gate of the Kiss(Poarta Sărutului) Is the second element of the ensemble. Technically speaking, it is 5,13 m high, 5,45 m long and the pillars have 1,69 m width. This time, the material used was Banpotoc travertine and in order to achieve the Gate, Brancusi was helped by two stone carvers: Ion Alexandrescu from Bucharest and Golea from Dobrita. It’s significance is very simple: the Kiss Gate makes the transition to another life, and the motif on the pillars stands for the eyes looking inside. LLP COMENIUS

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23. The Art – Way of Communication The Endless Column (Coloana fără Sfârşit) Or the Column of Gratitude, 29.33 m high, is the third element of the ensemble, being situated at the eastern extremity of the axis forming the Alley of Heroes. The column is made out of 17 rhomboidal cast iron modules, measuring 1,80 m high each and about 860 kg, moulded in the Central Workshop from Petrosani. The modules are fixed on a steel axis. The one who ethnically coordinated the assembling of the column was the engineer Stefan Georgescu-Gorjan.Otherwise, the Endless Column is considered to be the “spiritual will” of Constantin Brancusi. LLP COMENIUS

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26. The Art – Way of Communication The whole ensemble from Targu-Jiu was inaugurated on October 27th, 1938. After 1989, the monumental Ensemble from Targu Jiu was enlisted in the European heritage. LLP COMENIUS