Brancusi, Constantin

SCULPTOR (ROMANIA)
BORN 19 Feb 1876, Pestisani (near Tirgu Jiu) - DIED 16 Mar 1957, Paris
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Cimetière du Montparnasse, 3 Boulevard Edgar Quinet (division 18)

Constantin Brancusi was the son of peasant. He grew up in Hobita near the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. He worked for several years at a grocery shop in Craiova. His employer noted that he was a talented wood carver and he paid for his eduation at the School of Crafts. He continued his studies at the School of Fine Arts in Bicharest.

In 1903 he moved to Munich and then to Paris, where he worked at the studio of Antonin Menié for two years. After two months in Rodin's studio he started out for himself. His work became popular andby 1913 it was exhibited in the USA. His "Princess X", depicting Princess Marie Bonaparte, scandalized the Salon of 1920. In 1938 he finished a monument for World War I in Tîrgu-Jiu, Romania. In 1952 he became a French citizen.

Among his friends were Pound, Apollinaire, Picasso, Duchamp and Léger. When he died in 1957 he was buried at Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris, where works by his hand can be seen at other graves.

Related persons
• was a friend of Apollinaire, Guillaume
• met Bissier, Julius
• was a friend of Brauner, Victor
• was teacher of Duchamp, Alexina
• was a friend of Duchamp, Marcel
• knew Hepworth, Barbara
• was a friend of Léger, Fernand

Images

The grave of Brancusi at Montparnasse Cimetière, Paris.
Picture by Androom (22 May 1999)

 

Sources
De Complete Encyclopedie, Lekturama
Montparnasse cimitière: grafschriften, Paris, 1993
Constantin Brâncuși - Wikipedia


Brandes, Ernst

Published: 08 Feb 2009
Last update: 25 Apr 2022