CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI

Introduction

This work involves a detailed analysis of the life and work of a great cultural personality of Romania
and the world, a sculptor with a special significance for the Romanian people, Constantin Brâncuși.

I chose this theme because Constantin Brâncuși has a special significance in Romanian culture,
having overwhelming contributions to the renewal of language and plastic vision in contemporary
sculpture.

In the following chapters I will make a presentation of his works both personally and, especially,
artistically, from his debut works to the most important sculptures.

The first chapter contains an overview of his whole life, the biographical date about Brâncuși from
his birth to his death.

In the first part of the second chapter we exposed the work of Constantin Brâncuși in general with
all its meanings and sources of inspiration of the artist, following in the second part a detailed
exposition of the most important sources that gave life Brâncuși's work.

The third chapter presents Constantin Brâncuși's vision of his creation, the vision of a magical
cosmos in which he considers that spirit merges with matter and no work can be born without being
animated.

The last chapter is the most complex and most important because it presents the main sculptures of
Constantin Brâncuși (Prometheus, Muse, Master, Penguins, The Kiss, Miss Pogany, Caryatida, etc.),
of which the most important work is, without a doubt , the famous ensemble from Târgu Jiu, whose
history will be presented in the second part of this chapter. However, by far the most important
sculpture of the artist is the Column of Infinity. This will be analysed in the last part of the project
with all the meanings that have been attributed to it over time as a Romanian funerary pillar, axis of
the world and pillar of light or pillar of fire.

The work ends with a brief conclusion of all those presented.

Chapter 1 Biographical data

Born on February 19, 1876, in Hobita, Gorj, Constantin Brancusi was the sixth child of Radu Nicolae
Brâncuși and Maria Brâncuși. He did the first primary class in Peștișani, then he continued the school
in Brădiceni.

As a child he learned to carve wood to make various tools and household items. In Romania,
household objects, pillars and house facades were often decorated with wooden sculptures. The
style of these ornaments will influence Brâncuşi's work. In his memoirs the artist said that his outfit
and way of life were influenced by his country of origin, respectively by: simplicity, common sense,
love of nature.

At the age of 9 he left home and supported himself, working for 6 years as a shop boy in Craiova. All
this time he continued to carve in wood; he made himself a violin, which attracted the attention of a
client of the cafe where he worked - this client helped Brâncuşi to enter the school of Arts and Crafts
in Craiova.

Bust of Vitellius (1898)

After attending the School of Arts and Crafts

in Craiova (1894 - 1898) he came to
Bucharest where he graduated from the
School of Fine Arts in 1902. During his
studies, even in the first year, in 1898, his
work Bust of Vitellius gets "honorable
mention.

Ecoseu (1900 – 1902)

 For two years, between 1900 and 1902, with the help of Dr. Dimitrie Gerota, realizes Ecorșeu, a
study for the representation of the human body, a work to which a bronze medal is awarded.

The precision of the details of this work makes Ecorșeul to be used in Romanian medical schools.

Ecoseu is a statue made of plaster with a size of 177 × 52 x 32 cm.

In 1903 he received the first order of a public monument, the bust

of the general doctor Carol Davila, which was installed at the
Military Hospital in Bucharest and represents the only public
monument of Brâncuși in Bucharest. This bust was commissioned
by a council formed by his former teacher Dimitrie Gerota, to help
Brâncuși pay for the trip to Paris. The payment for the monument
was divided into two installments, the first half being paid before
work began, and the second instalment after Brâncuși finished the
bust.

When he finished the work, it was presented to the council, but the
reception was unsatisfactory, with various members of the council
having dissenting opinions about the general's physical
characteristics, such as asking for a nose reduction, and also
different opinions about the positioning of the epaulettes. Enraged
by the council's inability to understand the sculpture, Brâncuși
leaves the meeting room to everyone's surprise, without receiving
the second half of the money needed to leave for France, deciding
to walk to Paris.

Bust of Carol Davila(1903)

The road from Bucharest to Paris first took him through Hobita, where he said goodbye to his
mother. He continued on his way, stopping in Vienna for a while, during which time he worked in a
workshop as a furniture decorator. In Vienna he began to visit museums with works of art
inaccessible in Romania. Here he became acquainted with the Egyptian sculptures that influenced his
work later in life.
 In my opinion, Egyptian art influenced Brancusi by the fact that Egyptian art has a spiritual
representation and expresses various movements and actions that show the viewer the action from
the landscape. Later Brancusi uses this technique in his sculptures, an example would be the
Maiastra which is sculpted in a position that gives the feeling that it rises and at the same time
contains spiritual elements and signs that show different details like small eyes that signify
imperfections and many others symbols that Brancusi uses in his sculptures.

Maiastra represents an elevation (taking flight), not necessarily the representation of a bird.
Brancusi used the same elements from Egyptian art, respectively to capture in his sculptures the
motif of movement and action. As an example, we can see how the bird is sculpted in a slightly
diagonal post that gives the feeling of flight and elevation.

At the same time, Brancusi took from the Egyptian culture the meaning of the symbols and
merged them with the simplicity and spirituality of God. In this sculpture we can see how the bird's
eyes are different, and they are uneven, one being in the shape of an x. It states the taking over of
the symbols and their spirituality from Egyptian art. In Egyptian art, symbols are predominant.
 Consistent with Egyptian art, Brancusi managed to combine the sincere representation of the
spirit seen from the vision of a simple and sincere villager. At the same time, I believe that his
philosophy of being ordinary and sensible to nature can be seen in his art. I think that Brancusi
thought in a way as close as possible to God's commandments and created art in a way that was as
simple as possible focusing more on the soul of the object.

Brancusi managed to think beyond ordinary thinking and managed to find his own interpretation
being influenced by the myths and traditions where he lived and the people he met.

From Vienna he left for Munich in 1904, but after six months he set off on foot through Bavaria and
Switzerland and to Langres, France. Near Lunéville, after a torrential rain in which he is caught,
Brâncuși acquires an infectious pneumonia and, in critical condition, is admitted to a nunnery. After
a period of recovery, he thinks that he no longer has the strength or the time to travel on the road to
Paris, so he travels the last part of the road by train.

In 1905 he succeeded in the entrance examination to the prestigious École Nationale Supérieure des
Beaux-Arts, where he worked in Antonin Mercié's studio until 1906, when, reaching the age limit, he
left school.

Brâncuşi started working in Rodin's workshop in 1907 but left it after only a few months. I
consider that Brancusi's art was influenced by Auguste Rodin.
 The Gate of Inferno The Kissing Gate

Both artists made the gate element and the atmosphere of unknown, Rodin making the Gate of
Inferno and Brancusi the Gate of Kiss.

This element of building tension is present in both artists. For example, in The Gate of Inferno, Rodin
uses the element of illustration, making a very detailed representation full of elements. I think Rodin
used this type of presentation because, visually, these elements create tension through
agglomeration and dramatic and suffering posture.

I think that in the Kissing Gate, Brancusi wanted to show that through love people form a very solid
gate that opens new horizons. I say this because on the sides of the gate you can see two half-circles
that have a circle around them. I think this element wants to illustrate two people who love each
other and together they form one strong circle. We can see that the two half-circles are identical,
illustrating the person's soul. Brancusi wanted to make a gate because the element of the Gate
means the opening of a new world. We can see how the symbols, which are taken from Egyptian art,
are present in Brancusi's art.

In The Kissing Gate, Brancusi focused on spiritual representation. This vision of spiritual
representation can be found in the simplicity of the Romanian villagers. If you think in relation to the
common sense and simplicity of the Romanian villagers, you can understand the spiritual
representation that Brancusi used in his sculptures.

He refuses to work as a practitioner in Auguste Rodin’s

workshop, uttering the words that have become famous:

“Rien ne pousse à l’ombre des grands arbres”

(In the shade of the big trees nothing grows).

 Somnul (1906)

Constantin Brâncuși exhibited for the first time at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and at the
Salon d'Automne in Paris in 1906. In 1907 he created the first version of the Kiss, a theme that he
resumed in various forms until 1940, culminating with the Kiss Gate part of the Monumental
Ensemble from Târgu-Jiu. In 1907 he rented a studio in Rue de Montparnasse and came into contact
with the Parisian artistic avant-garde, becoming friends with Guillaume Apollinaire, Fernand Léger,
Amedeo Modigliani, Marcel Duchamp.

Work began on the Prayer, an order for a funerary monument that will be exhibited in the
"Dumbrava" Cemetery in Buzau. In 1909 he returned for a short time to Romania and participated in
the "Official Exhibition of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture". The jury of the Exhibition, chaired by
Spiru Haret, awards the second prize to Brâncuși. The art collector Anastase Simu buys the sculpture
Somnul and the plaster bust of the painter Nicolae Dărăscu is purchased by the Ministry of Public
Instruction.

In 1914, Brâncuși opened the first exhibition in the United States of America at the Photo Secession
Gallery in New York City, which caused an enormous sensation. The American collector John Quin
buys several sculptures, ensuring a material existence conducive to artistic creation. In the same
year, the Romanian Minister of Interior rejected the project of the Spiru Haret monument ordered a
year before. Brâncuși will keep the work in the workshop and will name it the Narcissus Fountain. In
1915, he began to execute the first wooden works, including 2 Caryatids and the Prodigal Son.

In Paris, in 1919, the volume "La Roumanie en images"

appeared with five reproductions after works by
Brâncuși. A year later, he participated in the exhibition
of the group "La Section d'Or" in France, in the
exhibition of the group "Romanian Art" at the
invitation of Camil Ressu in Romania, in the "Dada
Festival", where he signed the manifesto entitled
Against Cubism, against Dadaism. In the New Little
magazine from New York, appears, in 1921, the first
large-scale study with 24 reproductions of Brâncuși's
work, signed by the American poet Ezra Pound. In fact,
the sculptor would later make a famous portrait of
him.

Portrait of Ezra Pound

 He took part in a protest movement against André Breton and in defense of Tristan Tzara. On
November 30, 1924, he exhibited at the first international exhibition of the group "Contemporanul"
in Bucharest. Two years later, at the Wildenstein Galleries in New York, his second solo exhibition
opens. Until 1940, Brâncuși's creative activity took place in all its magnitude. His notable works from
the Bird in the Air cycle, the Ovoid cycle as well as wood carvings date from this period. At the same
time, Brâncuși participates in the most important collective sculpture exhibitions in the United States
of America, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and England. In his workshop in Impasse Ronsin, in
the heart of Paris, Brâncuși created a world of his own, with a Romanian setting and atmosphere.
The National Museum of Modern Art in Paris (Center Pompidou) has an important number of works
by Brâncuși, bequeathed to Romania, but gladly accepted by France, along with everything in its
workshop, after the refusal of the communist government of Romania 1950s to accept Brâncuși's
works after the sculptor's death.

In Romania, in the era of socialist realism, Brâncuși was challenged as one of the representatives of
cosmopolitan bourgeois formalism. However, in December 1956, the first personal exhibition of
Brâncuși in Europe opened at the Art Museum of the Republic of Bucharest. Only in 1964 Brâncuși
was "rediscovered" in Romania as a national genius and, consequently, the monumental ensemble
from Târgu-Jiu with the endless Column (of gratitude), the Table of Silence and the Kissing Gate
could be arranged and cared for, after it had been abandoned for a quarter of a century and very
close to being torn down.

At his death, in 1957, the Romanian state refused to receive the legacy left by Brâncuși, his Parisian
workshop, considering the sculptor a representative of the decadent bourgeoisie. Brâncuși's
workshop reverted to the French state.

I consider that the place where Brancusi lived was a great influence in terms of the artist's style of
producing art. In all his works there is simplicity and common sense, I say this because his works are
far from a detailed representation and focus on the meaning and spirit of objects, based on a divine
representation that is closely related to God. Romanian traditions have had a great influence on
Brancusi's art because they all focus on simplicity and the fear of God, based on common sense. At
the same time, it can be seen how the art of Egyptian culture, which focuses mainly on spirituality,
influenced Brancusi.

At the same time, the people he become friend and the places where he studied offered Brancusi
the main ideas about sculpture and art, creating a base knowledge that allowed him to express new
ways of making art and at the same time offered him the option of expressing his own ideas and
interpretations of the spirituality of objects through his vision.
Chapter 2

The work of Constantin Brâncuşi

Constantin Brâncuşi freed the sculpture from the preponderance of the mechanical imitation of
nature, he refused the figurative representation of reality, he expected the expression of the
quintessence of things, of the dynamism of form, and he united the sensible with the spiritual. In his
work, Brâncuşi reflected the Romanian villager way of thinking. Through his villager origin, he found
his deep roots in the traditions, myths and magical function of Romanian folk art. Representative of
the modern artistic movement, Constantin Brâncuşi is the most important sculptor of the 20th
century. His sculptures are distinguished by the elegance of form and the sensitive use of materials,
combining the simplicity of Romanian folk art with the refinement of the French art current and his
aspiration barrowed from Egyptian art and Orient culture.

Brâncuşi gave our century the representation of pure form, ensuring the transition from the
figurative representation of reality, to the expression of the essence of things and revolutionized the
plastic language in a revolutionary way.

He use in his art elements such as: verticality, horizontality, weight, density and the influence given
from light and space. In all his works you can discover those elements that are often very simple to
spot, showing his peasant’s way of thinking combined with symbols and meanings hidden in the
work, representing his spiritual vision.
 However, deciphering the meaning of his work remains so enigmatic and exciting. The factors that
led to this vision, later materialized in the Brancusi plastic creations, were first separated and
analyzed. They can be grouped into three categories: the pre-Christian beliefs in Romanian folklore,
always guided by Brâncuşi, Orthodox Christianity, metaphysics in the Far East and oriental, primitive
and archaic art. The broad religiosity of the artist, proves that Brâncuşi knew how to discover their
common and secret root, where the opposites reconcile in a primordial unity. What surprises the
artist, however, is the fact that only after his departure from the country and only after the turning
point of 1907, the Romanian folk motifs begin to appear in his new art. The explanation must come
from several directions. One of them is certainly the influence of oriental metaphysics and oriental,
primitive and archaic art from the Guimet, Trocadero and Louvre museums, in the sense that they
gave him the possibility to understand the universality of some symbols that appear in Romanian
folklore. But, perhaps the most important is the fact that Brâncuşi understood, through the same
mysterious process, what is related to the ineffable human being and the particular destiny of the
Romanian artist, the meaning of these archaic symbols and implicitly the archaic symbolic thinking.

Mainly, Brâncuşi had the vision of a magical cosmos, in which matter and spirit form a unity and in
which everything, animated or not, has spirit. His artistic belief was to reproduce through his works
precisely this spirit of matter, in a (truly) visible existence. This spirit suggested it in several ways: by
light (or the impression of "fire"), by creating surfaces that look as if they "advance forever" (or rise),
by respecting ideal interior proportions for these works, or through sacred symbols.

The work of the sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi continues to arouse perplexity and raise questions,
and the innumerable interpretations of his works only deepen the mystery and the conviction that
the understanding of their real meaning is far from complete. Researchers' curiosity is stimulated
especially by the unsettling impression of the mysterious, enigmatic, unspeakable, these strange
forms - especially by the fact that they do not try to imitate anything of the surrounding reality - and
the vague impression that their decipherment could reveal a deep meaning, beyond the name it
bears. The silence with which the artist himself enveloped his work, as well as his somewhat bizarre
life, nonconformist to the fashion of the time, but at the same time marked by the precepts of
ancestral traditions, increase the mystery and urge research in-depth study of the biography of the
sculptor from Gorj, on the grounds of looking at his work as a "mirror" of his creative soul.

2.1.

The philosophy of ancestral naturalness as a creative source of Brancusi

In order to understand the "roots" of Brâncuşi's philosophy, the surest way to do it is to listen to the
artist's own words, recorded by Petre Pandrea:
 "I was sent to the world as a child as a child. I didn't lose touch and I didn't take root to go crazy
around the globe. He also took advantage of my art. I saved myself as a man "; "Did the ancients say
to love your destiny? I loved myself and I never left my ancestors and their philosophy of
naturalness. Aren't they the ancestors of our destiny? ”; "Self-reconciliation is established in your
soul when you look at yourself as a ring in an endless chain of forerunners and when you do not
violate the prescriptions of eternal naturalness"; "Peasants know, from small to large, what is good
and bad. The tables of values are contained in proverbs, in customs, in the doctrine of the ancestors
and in the philosophy of naturalness”.

His peasant mentality can also be deduced from the appearance of his workshop in central Paris,
from his behavior in relations with neighbors and friends. He was a typical peasant, with a brick
stove (used for both heating and cooking Romanian food) as in the houses in Oltenia, bed, table,
chairs, wooden benches and a peasant gate made of beams, all built by his hand. He was moderate
in his diet, often cooking lacto-vegetarian food without consuming alcohol (although it is known that
he liked wine very much). He was especially fond of polenta, served with sour cream and fresh
cottage cheese at the round and short table. According to P. Pandrea, the norms of friendship in
Brâncuşi’s “doctrine” “are norms of the Carpathian Stoic peasant and the Stoic intellectual European
Union of the last two thousand years”, and “The wave of humanity and the wave of cordiality
flowed, daily, from the depths. He was part of humanity. “Finally, another deeply rural aspect was
the typical Aesopian manner in which he wanted to share his wisdom. Archaic wisdom certainly
came not only from his life experience but also from Romanian proverbs and sayings. One of
Brâncuși's constant and dear readings was the monumental work Proverbs of the Romanians by Iuliu
Zanne, in which P. Pandrea considers that there is “the main underground source of his philosophy,
orality and ethical behaviour in Parisian life, which differentiated him from his friends. Bohemian by
which he remained exemplary and even legendary”.

It could therefore be concluded that his norms of behavior were those of the Romanian Carpathian
village, and his vision of the world had as a fundamental and original source the very wisdom of
Romanian folklore in general and that of Gorj in particular. Brâncuși called it "the doctrine of the
ancestors" or "the philosophy of eternal naturalness". It is very important to emphasize that the
prescriptions of "eternal naturalness" have been applied both in private life and in his art. Brâncuși
would have said to P. Pandrea: "The obstruction of naturalness leads to sterility on all levels",
"Naturalness in friendship is the emulation of similar intelligences and the fraternization of
comrades-in-arms", "Naturalness in love is the passionate tendency to reach absolutely ... ” (But“
Love kills friendship ”), and “ Naturalness in sculpture is allegorical thinking, symbol, sacredness or
the essential search hidden in the material, and not the reproduction of the photograph of external
appearances ”.

2.2.

Cosmic Christianity as a creative source of Brâncuşi

 Brâncuşi's position towards Orthodox Christianity seems ambiguous, observing a certain reservation
towards Orthodox dogmas and in general towards Christian denominations. On the one hand, he
declares: “I do not follow the rules of my church either; and yet I go there and sing every Sunday.
Every religion claims that it expresses true doctrine, and denounces others as false. Religion is still
religion even without Christ, the Holy Spirit, heaven or hell”. Therefore, despite a seemingly
paradoxical position, it can be understood that, if Brâncuşi was dissatisfied only with the external
forms of religion, he was still attracted to a living faith in Christ.

2.3.

Oriental metaphysics as a creative source of Brâncuși

Brâncuşi's first contacts with oriental metaphysics were with his move to Paris, where he read Mrs.
Blavatski's Theosophical Book Isis unveiled, which talks about the spiritual message of a primordial
secret doctrine, from which the ideas broken by their initial context, later become the source of all
beliefs on the surface of the earth. P. Neagoe believes that this book would completely change
Brâncuşi's life and way of thinking. Moreover, the book would also influence the bill of his future art:
“In Constantine's soul, something sprouted from which he could not escape until the end of his life.
This something later sprouted in his sculptures, in the form of an egg or birds, symbols of genesis, of
birth”. P. Neagoe considers that Brâncuşi “The sacred books of the Orient gave him a new
orientation in art”. From the National Library he borrowed sacred books of the Orient which
impressed him a lot because in them he found a new explanation of the natural laws.

Brancusi's encounter with oriental metaphysics had a great impact on his vision of the meaning of
things. At the same time, Brancusi added in his search of genius the oriental metaphysics, practicing
yoga and reading books on oriental philosophy. This search made him understand himself and seek
for the spirit of things.

It is possible that Brâncuşi found in the books of oriental philosophy, at least partially, the wisdom
of his predecessors. It is also possible that, deepening his own ancestral folk traditions, out of the
constant desire to explain them, the Gorj artist actually entered the area of universality, where the
deep meanings of the great traditions meet. It should be noted, however, that P. Neagoe was the
only friend of Brâncuşi who reported that the artist practiced such a program of physical and mental
exercises, taken from the books of Oriental philosophy, and in this case Indian, because it is a
program according to the teaching of yoga. These meditation techniques were his preparation for
the artistic act, as he said:

"To prepare for the act of creation is more difficult than the creation itself." "To achieve artistic
inspiration ... Meditation prepares me for art. The act of artistic creation is not difficult. That's right,
it's easier to copy nature. But for a creative, true art, the big problem is you know how to prepare for
the artistic act. This is the secret; in creation a moment of preparation is necessary”;
 These words show how oriental culture influenced him, making him look for the quintessence of
things.

From what is narrated by P. Neagoe in his biographical novel about the life and work of his friend
Constantin Brâncuşi, it can be understood that the practice of techniques derived from the books of
oriental spirituality would have given him a new orientation, not only in life but also in his art,
because they helped him to be reborn and at the same time constituted his preparation for the
artistic act. It seems that the frequent visits to the Guimet, Trocadéro and Louvre museums in Paris,
where he was attracted mainly by the collections of primitive and oriental sculptures, contributed
essentially to the fundamental change of the Romanian artist's conceptions about art. For example,
the wooden sculptures in the Trocadéro museum “suggested to him the image of primitive man,
who had lived in a permanent correspondence with nature. It was a feeling that modern man had
lost. "

Chapter 3

"Spirit" and "matter" in the vision of Constantin Brâncuşi

3.1.

The spirit hidden in matter

Constantin Brâncuşi had the vision of a magical cosmos in which, as he confessed: "everything,
being or non-being, has a soul". As a more concrete example of the Romanian sculptor's actual work,
I reproduce the following representative texts of his:

“I only hit when the stone showed me what to do. I wait until the inner image is formed in the mind.
Sometimes weeks go by and the stone doesn't speak to me. I'm not looking for appearances. I try to
get as far away from reality as possible. I never copy. Any imitation of the natural surface is lifeless. I
have no preconceived notions. See, the idea must penetrate the stone and release the spirit hidden
in it. I'm looking for the same thing as you; that form, of all schools and times, which would reveal
the universal law. This law exists in our minds. I'm sure of this. We just have to look for her. I reject
all non-essential elements and make them identical to the universal law ... In fact, I am still in a
constant search”.

"The bird is the symbol of flight ... and flight will take man out of the narrow confines of heavy
matter. Here, however, I struggle with two problems: I must restore in my form the unleashing of
the spirit of matter. Secondly, I have to combine all the shapes into one perfect unit. Even the
opposite shapes must merge into the final shape… As you can see, I realized the idea of floating, but
I failed to make the bird take-off”

Taking into account the fact that in Brancusi's view of the world, the spirit in the matter is
considered to be the true reality, it is explained why the Romanian artist did not agree with the
classical art of descriptive (figurative) or, more recently, the abstract that constituted fashion.
Artistic of the early twentieth century. His belief was that "Art is something other than the rendering
of life: its transfiguration." So, to summarize, in Brancusi’s artistic conception of mystical origin, the
spirit of a subject (being, thing or phenomenon), is an eternal being of cosmic essence and at the
same time represents its own idea. The key form or the almost absolute form for each subject, is the
one that summarizes the idea of that subject. This form can be reached through a process of
essentialization, continuous simplification of a subject of a certain apparent complexity. It is
therefore explicable why such an "idealistic" approach to subjects naturally led him to a
nonfigurative art.
Chapter 4

The main sculptures of Brâncuşi

1. Prometheus (1911)

Brâncuşi resumes the theme from the Torture, from 1907 where the bow of the head is the only sign
of suffering. Prometheus' head is a small piece of marble, where the details of the portrait seem to
have been erased. Prometheus' head have an almost spheroidal appearance, interrupted only by the
subtle depth of his eyes, the barely perceptible lines of his nose and mouth, the shape of his ear, and
the suddenly strangled neck.
2. Muza (1912)

She is inspired like the Sleeping Muse by the portrait of Baroness Renee Irana Frachon.
This work is made of marble.

In this work Brancusi focused on the position of the portrait. In my opinion, this way of expressing
the posture in art, is taken from Eastern culture. I say this because Eastern culture focuses on the
spiritual meaning engaged from stories and myths that are shown in the actions of the characters.
Brancusi respected this culture and combined it with the culture of the peasant thinking, which
generally have as their understanding respect, common sense and observance of God's rules. In my
opinion, Brancusi took over the spirituality from the Oriental culture and understood that every
object has a soul and took from the Romanian culture, the simplicity and common sense. An
example that shows that Brancusi took elements from Eastern culture is the fact that he started
yoga and began to look for the spirit of objects.

He was reproducing the spirit of the objects in the vision of the Romanian peasant. At the same
time, he used symbols and sculpture techniques that he learned from the Romanian and French art
schools.

3. Maiastra (ca. 1915–1918)

The work is also made of polished bronze, but compared to the previous version the legs are a few
cm longer. This shows how he chose to introduce elements related to size in his art. At the same time
he use symbols and postures to illustrate to the viewer different essence. For example, on the right
side of the beak the opening widens and the right eye is larger than the left. I believe that these
asymmetries have the role of animating the shapes of the bird.

This sculpture has two versions, one at the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation in Venice and one at the
Moines Art Center.

The material used in the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation from Venice version is gelatine silver print.
The material used in the Moines Art Center version is marble. The size of the sculpture is: 17.6 x 12.7
cm. (6.9 x 5 in.)

The Moines Art Center version The Peggy Guggenheim Foundation version

4. Penguins (1912)

This sculptureis made in white marble. Brâncuşi's penguins express a feeling of tenderness, they keep
a human sense in their tender movements, and they seem like people in a movement of closeness. At
the same time the sculpture shows the seeking of mutual support. The sculpture illustrates a sense of
trust, communion, and solidarity. Again, Brancusi use elements such as movements, size, space and
his vision, in this case, of Anatole France's book, Penguin Island.

The size of this sculpture is: 54 × 28.3 × 30.8 cm (21 1/4 × 11 1/8 × 12 1/8 in.)
5. The Kiss (1912)

In this work, Brancusi use the stone to represent the power of one that arises from care and love.
This affirms once again his use of different materials and postures to present easier the quintessence
from his vison. I believe that the arms symbolise the marriage, showing that Brancusi hides in his
work symbols.

6. Miss Pogany

It is considered by critics as one of the most famous and daring portraits of the twentieth century. It
represents a new conception of the portrait. This figure of extraordinary delicacy, with eyes as huge
as a dragonfly, is at the same time a portrait and the effigy of a beauty full of mystery. The
resemblance to the photograph of the painter Margit Pogany is striking. She visited Brâncuşi's
workshop in 1910 or 1911, and after the war she settled in Australia.
7. Caryatid (1915)

Caryatids are by nature supporting figures, however he sold these two larger ones as independent
works. Brâncuşi said: "I would not want it to be believed that these works are imitations of the
ancient, nor did I think about it, I just wanted to capitalize on these old woods that I really liked."
The artist will resume the theme in 1926, creating a new version of this work that, like this one, can
be admired at the Fugg Museum of Harvard University.

8. Himera (1918)

The oak sculpture is a strange image of a creature with huge eyes. It is placed on a base that partially
resumes the theme of the oval. Along with Socrates and the spirit of the Buddha, this sculpture
brings the breaking of the closed volume, the use of the vacuum as a constitutive element of the
sculptural space and the assembly of several forms in the same sculpture, as new elements in his
artistic language.
9. The Portrait of Mrs. Eugen Meyer Jr. (1920)

The subtitle of the work is "A queen who does not despise". The features of the face are completely
suppressed, and the structure of the composition is not reminiscent of a human figure. The sculpture
consists of three parts, joined by a vertical line. The upper part, a kind of cylinder curved in front,
represents the head that continues with a smaller curvature in the middle part, which would
represent the neck, and the lower part, which represents the bust, is a new cylinder.

10. Blonde black woman (1924)

The structure of this work is based on the simplicity of the ovoid shape. The sculpture is an egg
resting on the edge of a cylinder that serves as a base. The oval of the portrait has at the top applied
a sphere representing the hair tight in a bun, on one side it has applied a kind of lips formed of a
sectioned cylinder, which resembles the lower part of Eve's head and on the other side a wing in
three corners. Ionel Jianu considers that next to a sophisticated girl, this work was also inspired by
the portrait of, because she lived with a black pianist whom she took everywhere with her as a
defiance of racial prejudices ... Brancusi will return to theme in 1928, this work can be seen at the
Art Institute of Chicago and in 1933, a work that is in a private collection in Detroit.
Brancusi borrowed from African art the idea of metamorphosis and the change of objects and
people into animals and spirits. You can see the circular and rounded elements that are present in
African sculpture.

Nancy Cunard
Brancusi wants to sculpt the essence of objects and to find that spirit seen through his interpretation
that formed from the Romanian and French school together with the things that influenced and
fascinated him. This sculpture resembles a fish. I think Brancusi chose to do so because he was
influenced by African art that is based on transforming people into animals. At the same time, one
can observe the influence of Romanian simplicity.

11. Miss Pogany (1933)

It is a bronze version of the 1919 carved version at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. About this
work Brâncuşi said “I can probably think of an even better interpretation. Who can say that a work of
art is finished? ”.
12. Seal (1936)

The sculpture, which is also called the Miracle, is made of marble with gray vines. It is a simple form,
a body rising to the ground with toil. Paul Andre said: “A seal seen by Brâncuşi is always much less
and much more than that, it is the vital momentum captured by a few lines whose sobriety conceals
an entire virtual life. You guess an aspiration in it. Not the seal. Of life.

13. The architectural complex from Târgu Jiu (1953)

It is his main work. The complex, conceived as a homage to the heroes who fell in the First World
War, is built at the proposal of the National League of Women from Gorj County, chaired by Aretia
G. Tătărascu. Initially, the project included two works: The column of endless gratitude, dedicated to
the heroes who fell in 1916 in the battles on the banks of the Jiu and the Stone Portal, which was to
be the main gate of the public garden in Târgu Jiu. A second project provided for the location of the
Kiss Gate 15 meters away from the street, but Brâncuşi decides to raise the Kiss Gate further inside
the garden, in the place where it is today.

Kissing Gate (1937)

This work represents the perfect stage of an idea that persevered in Brâncuşi since 1908, when he
carved the first version of Sărut. Here Brâncuşi synthesizes so much that the two embraced bodies
take the form of the two halves of a seed. In the gate of Târgu Jiu, known as the "Kiss Gate", the
embrace of the two bodies, as two halves of the same seed, forms the perfect shape of a circle.
Through the circle, the sun is naturally evoked, here its origin is once again betrayed in the eye of
the 1925 Kiss, the symbol of the motif.

The Table of Silence (1938)

The first variant of the Table had a diameter of 200 cm; but Brâncuşi ordered a second one, with a
diameter of 215 cm, which he placed over the first one, giving up the circular plinths that formed the
base. The table suggests the rough appearance of two overlapping millstones. The sculptor said:
“The line of the Table of Silence suggests the closed curvature of the circle that gathers, brings
together and unites. Carved in other proportions or from other materials, used as a pedestal, or for
other utilitarian purposes, this type of round table was part of the very familiar decor of Brâncuşi's
workshop. ”

Endless Column (1937)

It is his main work, considered by Ionel Jianu a synthesis of all his lifelong pursuits and by Barbu
Brezianu the quintessence of Brâncuşi's work, being one of the most admirable sculptures of the
century. It is an austere and perfectly balanced sculpture. The 16 elements of the column were cast
in September 1937 at the factories in Petroşani, and weigh 14,226 kg.

14. The Flying Turtle (1943)

It is his last work. The frog seems to detach itself from the ground and rise to the sky, embodying
the opposition between living and flying.
The Infinite Column

4.1 The mythical symbol of the Infinite Column

The Infinite Column is one of the terms used by Constantin Brâncuşi for the main element of his
Ensemble from Târgu-Jiu. The names of: Infinity Column, Endless Column, Endless Column, Endless
Pillar, Endless Pillar or the simplest Pillar were also recorded. Several exegetes of the Brancusi
masterpiece rightly remarked on the resemblance of the shape of the Column - which sometimes
goes as far as identity - to the shape of the porch and gate pillars of the peasant houses or of the
funerary pillars from the rural cemeteries of a still traditional Romania at the beginning of the 20th
century, when Brâncuşi began the work of renewing the sculpture in Paris. However, the Romanian
archetype of the Column was recognized more by some of Brâncuşi's exegetes. The Infinite Column
is in fact a huge funerary pillar, monumentalized in honor of the heroes of Gorj and suggestively
located near the cemetery on the hill that borders the city to the east.

At the same time, the Column represents an archaic symbol from the geographical space now
inhabited by Romanians, found on the gate or porch pillars of old wooden houses. The theme of this
stylized pillar is fundamental in Brâncuşi's work, preoccupying the sculptor since the beginnings of
his non-figurative art. The first Columns were carved in wood in 1909, and in 1918 he also carved in
wood several endless Columns, created, presumably, in memory of the dead of the First World War
that can be found in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Brancusi was 39
years old when he started this project. The projects diameters are 2.03 m x 25 cm x 24 cm.

In this way it can be explained why the sculptor felt the need to monumentalize this stylized pillar in
Târgu-Jiu. Brâncuşi's preoccupation with the theme of the Column, culminating with its
monumentalization in Târgu-Jiu, denotes the fact that for the artist this symbol had an extremely
important significance, which he wanted to share with his peers. And one of the ways he chose in
this regard was to keep a certain mystery about the precise meaning of his work, in order to arouse
the curiosity of those with a desire for truth, beauty and philosophy, who researching his works.
They will thus "twin" with him, enriching his creation through their impressions and suggestions.

The modules were made in the central workshop of Petroșani (Atelierele Centrale Petroșani),
assembled by Brâncuși's friend engineer Ștefan Georgescu-Gorjan (1905–1985), and completed on
27 October 1938.

All 16 rhomboidal modules accumulate a total height of 29.3 m.

1. THE SYMBOLISM OF THE ROMANIAN FUNERAL PILLAR AS "COSMIC TREE" AND "AXIS OF THE
WORLD"

The Infinite Column therefore represents all these universal symbols of the "Cosmic Tree", the "Pillar
of Heaven" or the "Pillar of Heaven", which are essentially equivalent to the primordial symbol of the
Axis of the World, a symbol whose archaism is no longer required to be proven. Both in hunters and
shepherds in Central and North Asia, and in the primitive cultures of Oceania, Africa, and the
Americas. In this way, it signifies the passage or ascension from our terrestrial world, finite (profane,
destructible), to the "world beyond" (of the sacred, indestructible) which is infinite.

2. THE SYMBOLISM OF THE ROMANIAN FUNERAL PILLAR AS "CENTER OF THE WORLD"

This Axis of the World is also equivalent to the "Tree of Life," which grows into the "Center of the
World" or the "Navel of the Earth." So a Romanian funeral pillar can also symbolize the idea of
"Center of the World", as well as the Infinite Column that represents it.

3. THE INFINITE COLUMN AND THE REPRESENTATION OF THE DIVINITY AS A "PILLAR OF LIGHT" OR
"PILLAR OF FIRE"

The bright yellow of the Infinite Column - obviously especially on sunny days - due to its brightening,
could also suggest the epiphany of the Divinity as "Pillar of Light" or "Pillar of Fire". Which connects
the Sky (represented by a semicircle) to the Earth, appears as a divine symbol in an exterior fresco of
the Voroneţ monastery. The symbol of the flame is also found in Islam. Thus, a Persian miniature
from the 17th century symbolizes Muhammad in the form of a flame on the back of a camel, and the
Uyghur manuscript "Book of Ascension" from the 16th century. The 15th century depicts
Muhammad and Musa (Moses) surrounded by flames and flaming serpents, or Muhammad with the
archangel Gabriel, also surrounded by flames, as in the case of Muhammad and Fatima. A conclusion
to the above is that the term Infinity in the nomenclature of this monumental piece, refers primarily
to the Divinity, or more precisely to its attribute of being an infinite cosmic being and creator of an
infinite cosmos, through the string endless in space and time of the worlds she created.
In my opinion, The Infinite Column symbolizes the concept of infinity arising from the sacrifice of the
Romanian soldiers. The Infinite Column stacks 15 rhomboidal modules, with a half-unit at the top
and bottom, making a total of 16. The incomplete top unit is thought to be the element that
expresses the concept of the infinite. I believe that the 16 rhomboidal modules represents coffins
placed on top of each other as an homage for the people that died in war.

The Column starts with half of the coffin placed on the ground, illustrating that the Earth is
connected with all the people that die and represent the structure of the pillar of life. The last
rhomboidal module is also opened. This makes the connection between Earth, people and sky and it
also shows that the column will be continued and is in an infinite association with all the elements.

I believe that the main influences for this sculpture are the Romanian style of building houses
(Brancovenesc style) and the Romanians simple rural life style.

As Brancusi always illustrates in his works, he avoided to make the sculpture with real
characteristics and tended to illustrate in his works the quintessence of the objects and try as much
as possible to escape the real world and find his own vision and the soul of the stone.

Brancusi believes that in order to find and sculpt the form closest to nature and the most sincere, he
must look in the roots of cultures. He wanted to search the roots of every people to find the most
appropriate form between art and nature.

I believe this image of a rural Romanian sitting on a coffin, is very close to the quintessence of the
Infinite Column. The old man sits probably on the coffin of his dead wife and wait consciously for his
death. You can see the similarities of the coffin and the rhomboidal modules of the Infinite Column. I
think Brancusi wanted to illustrate the simplicity of people and show that all people are the same
and that death is inevitable. At the same time I think Brancusi wanted to express that after death the
soul will be free and infinite.

Conclusions

Finally, concluding the data presented above, the complexity and admiration for the works of the
sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi, which will last for many years from today, emerges.
 Constantin Brâncuşi freed the sculpture from the preponderance of the mechanical imitation of
nature, he refused the figurative representation of reality, he expected the expression of the
essence of things, of the dynamism of form, and he united the sensible with the spiritual. In his
work, Brâncuşi reflected the Romanian peasant's way of thinking. Through his peasant origin, he
found the deep roots of his work in the traditions, myths and magical function of Romanian folk art.
Brâncuşi is, without a doubt, such a moment of the consciousness of modern art, which
concentrates the meanings of an entire era of the evolution of the creative spirit.

I consider that Neolithic art was the main influence of Brancusi's art. Brancusi searched in the roots
of ancient culture in Europe and highlighted the simplicity and spirituality of Neolithic sculpture. An
example is the Cernavoda Thinker. This terracotta sculpture played a very important role in the art of
sculpture. Agustin Rodin was influenced by this work and in 1902 he created The Thinker which, in
my opinion, is a combination of Michelangelo's style (David, Laocoön and His Sons, etc.) and The
Thinker from Cernavoda.

At the same time, Brancusi based his search on the purest essence. He seeks the form closest to
nature and naturalness. Therefore, besides the fact that his sculptures are influenced by Romanian
traditions and information learned from schools, Brancusi came to the conclusion that to find the
most sincere form of the spirit you have to look in the roots of each culture because they represent
the most sincere form. And the closest connection between man and nature. I believe this because
there is a great connection between his art and Neolithic and African sculpture. We can see how
Brancusi made Negresa Blonda and Miss Pogany. These sculptures show most obviously how
Brancusi took elements from African art and fused it with the simplicity of life in the Romanian
village and the knowledge gained from school.

In conclusion, Constantin Brâncuşi was and will remain known throughout Europe as a great sculptor
who brought a reputation to our country and is an important cultural value among all personalities
in Romania.