MADEMOISSELLE POGANY (final) Flashcards
(22 cards)
artist
Constantin Brancusi
date
1912
material
white marble and limestone block
who was brancusi and what was his training
Born in Romania (learned how to carve stone and wood there )
Attended School of arts and crafts in Caiova.
(Made furniture (note, important in terms of his interest in craftsmanship)
Moved to Paris in 1905 to continue his education at the École des Beaux Arts.
Worked for a month in Rodin’s studio (1907), leaving because he said ‘nothing can grow in the shadow of a great tree’.
why did brancusi supress decoration
Brancusi suppressed decoration and narrative references in an effort to create pure and resonant forms which captured the essence of his subjects.
when did he work for rodin and why did he leave
Worked for a month in Rodin’s studio (1907), leaving because he said ‘nothing can grow in the shadow of a great tree’.
who was the sitter (and her context)
Margit pogany
a young Hungarian artist brancusi met in 1910. She became both his model and his lover whilst she was in Paris studying painting.
she asked him for a portrait during her last two months in Paris, sat for him several times (BUT HE DESTROYED STUDIES HE MADE IN HER PRESENCE EVERY TIME)
he he carved this marble portrait head from memory whenshe returned to Hungary
what did brancusi aim to capture
aimed to capture the essence of her
CRITICAL QUOTE ON HER TENDERNESS
‘all the time i think about you and the tenderness and how you took care of me’ -WROTE TO POGANY
description of sculpture
-essential features are simplified, beginning to be abstracted
CURVE
-smooth curve and soft appearance is sensual, likened to a ‘scallop shell’
-‘truth to materials’ can be observed in this sculpture through the artist’s sensual treatment of curves and the high polish particularly of the ‘egg like’ form of the head.
HEAD
-egg like
EYES
-large eyes with pronounced rims reminiscent of picasso works
HAIR
coiled back into a tight knot at back of head, coils linked to that or a snake
NOSE
-nose goes into a point. The ear and nose are rendered with particular delicacy.
POSE
hands drawn up beneath her cheeks
description of eyes
large eyes with pronounced rims reminiscent of Picasso’s works, are the most prominent feature of the sculpture.
HAIR
coiled back into a stylised bun
coils likened to a snake
nose
culiminates in a sharp point. nose and ears rendered with particular delicacy
head
curvaceous
egg like
scallop shell
materials and processes
Although all the clay models of these sittings were destroyed, several preparatory drawings which he also made, survive.
-The first marble sculpture was carved from memory
made 3 marble and 4 bronze versions
what were the influences
Influences: Romanian folk art and craftsmanship, medieval art and craftsmanship, primitivism, Cycladic art (figurines), European Modernist movements
how was brancusi influenced
had a training in wood and stone carving from his youth in Romania. He came from a region in Romania that was well known for wood carving and folk art and he was therefore exposed to this craft from a very early age.
how was brancusi influenced by medieval art
direct carving set the artist back in the medieval role of ‘craftsman’.
The notion of ‘honest labour’ almost like an act of devotion in the same way medieval craftsmen built and decorated the great cathedrals, became important to 20th century artists including Brancusi.
influence of primitivism
-visited ethnographic museums , particularly in the Trocadero Museum in Paris (in 1909 with Modigliani)
were both very influenced by how tribal masks and sculptures simplified facial features and relied on symbolic representation of the face
cycladic influence
influences from Cycladic carvings.
The Cycladic culture was in the islands of the Aegean sea
how was it recieved
‘is she a lady of an egg?” Charles H. Caffin
