Constantin Brancusi- Life and Works

Constantin Brancusi was born in 1876 in the small farming village of Hobitza in Romania. He left his home at the age of eleven and worked sporadically in various professions, such as waiter, cabinet-maker, and fortune-teller and simultaneously attended the School of Arts and Crafts part-time. In 1894, he joined the School full-time where he excelled in woodworking and ultimately graduated with honours in 1898. Brancusi then studied modelling and life sculpture at Bucharest's National School of Fine Arts. In 1904, he moved from Romania to Paris, mostly on foot.

The story of his travelling made Brancusi famous as a peasant with an exotic heritage. The artist encouraged the myth, wearing Romanian peasant clothing, and carved all of his own furniture. Constantin Brancusi’s artworks showcase the journey of the artist. His humble beginnings, at a very early age, prepared him for his works that would advance the concepts of sculpting in the twentieth century Europe. Explore Constantin Brancusi’s art and if you like them you can buy Constantin Brancusi’s artworks online.

In Paris, Brancusi studied sculpture and modelling at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He started working as a studio assistant to Auguste Rodin, but left after only a month, explaining, "Nothing grows under the shadow of big trees." However, this month long training helped him shape his aesthetic sense, creating a point of departure from Rodin’s style and creating his own signature of using direct carving technique instead of working from a clay model.

"What my work is aiming at is, above all, realism: I pursue the inner, hidden reality, the very essence   of objects in their own intrinsic fundamental nature; this is my only deep preoccupation."

Most important art works of Brancusi are ‘The Kiss’, ‘Sleeping Muse’, ‘Endless Column’, ‘The Sorceress’, ‘Fish’ and ‘Bird in Space’. The first version of ‘The Kiss’ was created in 1907, it was created as squared model, but the 1916 version was most geometric and reflected influence of cubism. Its composition and material reflect Brancusi’s interest in African, Assyrian and Egyptian art. Since 1909, his works became smoother, more contoured and he started working with marble and bronze. Constantin Brancusi’s sculptures introduced twentieth century to a new form of sculpting. Explore the works of Constantin Brancusi and if you like them buy Constantin Brancusi artworks online.

In ‘Sleeping Muse I’, Brancusi’s distinguished form of portrait bust, presenting only the sleeper’s head, is reflected.  The artist polished the surface meticulously until its gleaming surface contrasted with the curved contour of the sleeper’s face.

‘The Sorceress’ was curved from a tree trunk containing the point where three branches met. This was inspired from the story of a flying witch in a Romanian folk tale.

Most important of his works, ‘Endless Column’ reflects the artist’s belief in cosmic forces and infinity and refers to the ‘axis mundi’ or ‘axis of the world’ which bridges heaven and earth.

‘Fish’ reflects the artist’s interest not on the features of the animal, but on “Speed, its floating, flashing body seen through water… just the flash of its spirit”.

‘Bird in Space’ shows the artist’s interest in magical birds, their “essence of flight”.