Table Of ContentConstantin
Brancusi
SandaMiller
Constantin Brancusi
TitlesintheseriesCriticalLivespresenttheworkofleadingculturalfigures
ofthemodernperiod.Eachbookexploresthelifeoftheartist,writer,
philosopherorarchitectinquestionandrelatesittotheirmajorworks.
Inthesameseries
JeanGenet OctavioPaz
StephenBarber NickCaistor
MichelFoucault WalterBenjamin
DavidMacey EstherLeslie
PabloPicasso CharlesBaudelaire
MaryAnnCaws RosemaryLloyd
FranzKafka JeanCocteau
SanderL.Gilman JamesS.Williams
GuyDebord SergeiEisenstein
AndyMerrifield MikeO’Mahony
MarcelDuchamp SalvadorDalí
CarolineCros MaryAnnCaws
JamesJoyce EdgarAllanPoe
AndrewGibson KevinJ.Hayes
FrankLloydWright GertrudeStein
RobertMcCarter LucyDaniel
Jean-PaulSartre SamuelBeckett
AndrewLeak AndrewGibson
NoamChomsky PabloNeruda
WolfgangB.Sperlich DominicMoran
JorgeLuisBorges WilliamS.Burroughs
JasonWilson PhilBaker
ErikSatie StéphaneMallarmé
MaryE.Davis RogerPearson
GeorgesBataille VladimirNabokov
StuartKendall BarbaraWyllie
LudwigWittgenstein
EdwardKanterian
Constantin Brancusi
Sanda Miller
reaktion books
ToGiulia
PublishedbyReaktionBooksLtd
33GreatSuttonStreet
Londonec1v0dx,uk
www.reaktionbooks.co.uk
Firstpublished2010
Copyright©SandaMiller2010
Allrightsreserved
Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,
ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,
photocopying,recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorpermission
ofthepublishers.
PublicationofthisbookissupportedbySouthamptonSolentUniversity
ArtandDesignCapabilityFund.
PrintedandboundinGreatBritain
byCromwellPressGroup,Trowbridge,Wiltshire
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
Miller,Sanda
ConstantinBrancusi.—(Criticallives)
1.Brancusi,Constantin,1876-1957.2.Sculptors,
Romania—Biography.
I.TitleII.Series
730.9’2-dc22
isbn9781861896520
Contents
Introduction 7
1 Childhood 12
2 CraiovaandApprenticeship 21
3 BucharestandtheAcademyofFineArts 30
4 Paris 40
5 TheStudiosatimpasseRonsin 76
6 WorkandFriends 102
7 Tîrgu-Jiu 126
8 LastWorks,LastFriends,Legacy 141
References 151
SelectBibliography 167
Acknowledgements 171
PhotoAcknowledgements 173
No digital rights
Brancusiinhisstudio,c.1915.
Introduction
AlthoughConstantinBrancusiisacknowledgedasamajorartistof
thetwentiethcentury,hecontinuestobeoneofitsmostelusive.
Tworeasonsforthisspringtomind.Thefirstistodowithhispersonal
history.BrancusiwasbornandgrewupinRomaniaduringthelast
quarterofthenineteenthcentury,anddespitetheWest’smodernizing
influences,Romaniawasthenanimpoverished,largelyruralland,one
regardedbyoutsidersasagrimBalkanbackwaterhauntedbyvampires
andwerewolves.Thesecond,andtomymindmoreinteresting,reason
isthatBrancusihimself,oncehewassettledinParis,capitalizedon
thewidespreadignoranceandprejudicesconcerningRomaniaand
itsinhabitants.Quicktorealizethatfictionismoreappealingtothe
popularimaginationthanarefacts,hewovearoundhimselfaveritable
auraof‘otherness’inhiscelebratedwhiteatelierorstudiointheheart
ofMontparnasse.Sosuccessfulwasheinthisthatweevenhave
anovelisticbiographyofBrancusibyPeterNeagoeentitledTheSaint
ofMontparnasse,publishedfiveyearsaftertheauthor’sdeathin1960,
andwhichwaswritteninordertoenshrinethemythforever.1
Documentaryevidence,however,hascontinuedtoemerge,
someasrecentlyas2003,2whichcontradictssuchone-dimensional
hagiographies,andamorecomplexpictureisemerging,onethat
revealsBrancusiasamanofhistimewhorespondedtothechallenge
ofoneofthemostturbulentperiodsinEuropeanhistory,dominated
bytwoworldwarsandaholocaust,bycreatingworksofhaunting
andunforgettablebeauty.
7
Brancusi’soeuvreisdisplayedintheforemostmuseumsofEurope
andtheusaandsomeofhissculptures,suchasthefamousMlle
Pogany,haveachievediconicstatus.Lesswellknownishisrecon-
structedstudiocomplexinParis,partoftheBeaubourgdistrict’s
CentrePompidou.AveritableGesamtkunstwerkthatencapsulates
Brancusi’slifeandwork,the‘AtelierBrancusi’ishismostenduring
legacy.InhislifetimeinMontparnasseitwasthestageonwhichhis
carefullyconstrued‘otherness’wasplayedouttoacaptiveaudience.
Thisaudiencecomprisedthedealers,collectors,friends,lovers,writers,
criticsandtheoddsycophantichanger-onthatBrancusihadgathered
aroundhim.Somewhovisitedhaveleftprecioustestimonies,asthe
followingexamplereveals.Duringthe1950stheplaywrightEugène
IonescowasinvitedtovisitBrancusi.Although‘lepittoresquedasa
personne’–asIonescosarcasticallyputit–didnotappealtohim,one
coldwintereveninghedidaccepttheinvitation.Ashewaswaiting
bythestoveinthecompanyofthepainterAlexandreIstrati,thedoor
openedandinsteppedBrancusi,‘alittleoldmanabout80yearsold,
cudgelinhand,wearingatallwhitefurrybonnetonhishead;a
patriarch’swhitebeard’and‘lesyeuxpétillantsdemalice’.Although
informedofhisvisitor’sidentity,Brancusifeignedignoranceby
askingIonesco‘whatwashismétier’.IstratiexplainedthatIonescu
‘isaplaywright,writesforthestage’.Brancusireplied‘Me,Idetest
thetheatre,Ihavenoneedoftheatre.J’emmerdelethéâtre.’Butin
Ionescohefoundhisequal,forIonescoquicklyretortedthat‘Itoo
detestandJ’emmerdeit.ThatisthereasonIwriteplaystomockit.
Itisthesolereason.’Brancusi,whowasfamedforprovokinghis
interlocutorsbyplayingdevil’sadvocate,thenbeganarambling
perorationaboutHitlerbeingamisunderstoodhero,aboutAryanism,
theninturnhishatredofNazism,hishatredofdemocracy,of
bolshevism,ofanti-communism,ofscience,ofmodernism,ofanti-
modernismandsoon....ButIonescokeptvery,veryquiet.Defeated,
Brancusilefttheroom,onlytoreappearmomentslatercarryinga
bottleofchampagne.3
8
