BRANCUSI Constantin (1876-1957)

Born in Romania, he studied at the Academy of Bucarest thanks to a scholarship and then crossed Germany to go to Paris by foot, needless to say, in difficult conditions. He studied two years at the Beaux Arts. His sculpture 'L'enfant', rather of a classical style, executed in 1906, is noticed by Rodin, who sought to teach him and give him a way out of the official path. He prefered to keep his autonomy and executed more work, likened to primitivism and the abstract, with sleek lines. However, he stands as authentic and independant from any artistic movement. He plays with dimensions and materials and his work 'Le commencement du monde', where he pushes forms to their limits, in this case, the oval form, made out of white marble, on a metal disc, giving his work an abstract aspect. He worked on all sorts of materials whether it is wood, marble, stone, onyx or polished bronze. His work is often presented on pedestals , in two pieces or with two different materials, to be appreciated independantly from one another or assembled. He is considered as one of the major master of XXth century sculpture.