Mademoiselle Pogany Flashcards
artist
Constantin Brancusi
date
1912
material
white marble and limestone block
size
44 x 21 x 31 cm
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)
left to study at the National School of Fine art in Bucharest 1898-1902
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 leave to study in Bucharest
left to study at the National School of Fine art in Bucharest 1898-1902
when did he leave bucherest for Paris
Moved to Paris in 1905 to continue his education at the École des Beaux Arts.
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 was 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, December 1910 and January 1911, she 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 write to pogany
“All the time I think about you and the tenderness and how you took care of me. I would have liked to give you as much joy as you gave me.”
what did brancusi aim to capture
aimed to capture the essence of her
description of sculpture
-essential features are simplified, beginning to be abstracted
-sitter’s hands are drawn up beneath her cheek
-smooth curve and soft appearance are particularly sensual. They have been likened to a ‘scallop shell’.
-large eyes with pronounced rims reminiscent of Picasso’s works, are the most prominent feature of the sculpture.
-sitter’s hair is coiled at the back of her head into a stylised chignon. The coils have been likened to that of a snake.
-nose goes into a point. The ear and nose are rendered with particular delicacy.
-‘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.
description of eyes
-large eyes with pronounced rims reminiscent of Picasso’s works, are the most prominent feature of the sculpture.
description of hair
-sitter’s hair is coiled at the back of her head into a stylised chignon. The coils have been likened to that of a snake.
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 and then cast into bronze. He made a second marble version in 1919 and a third in marble in 1931.
-made four bronze versions of the 1913 one
what did pogany say about brancusi’s artistic process
‘each time I begged him to keep it and use it for the definite bust - but he only laughed and threw it back in the boxful of clay that stood in the corner of his studio.’
how does brancusi use the direct carving method
rather than modelling a work in plaster and then giving it to stonemasons to convert with the help of pointing machines, Brancusi carves the work himself in stone.
truth to materials’, materials wouyld define appearance
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 from c. 3300 - 1100 BC.
The marble figurines are most commonly a single full length female figure with arms folded across the front.
They are also characterised by sharply defined noses and smooth faces.
is this work abstract (and quote)
he is influenced by the move to abstraction but claims this work was abastract
They are imbeciles who call my work abstract; that which they call abstract is the most realistic, because what is real is not the exterior form but the idea, the essence of things”.
