1876-1957. Romanian sculptor, active in Paris
from 1904, a pioneer of abstract forms and
conceptual art. He was one of the first
sculptors in the 20th century to carve
directly from his material, working with
marble, granite, wood, and other materials.
He developed increasingly simplified natural
or organic forms, such as the sculpted head
that gradually came to resemble an egg
(Sleeping Muse 1910, Musee National d'Art
Moderne, Paris). By the 1930s he had achieved
monumental simplicity with structures of
simple repeated forms (Endless Column and
other works in Tirgu Jiu public park,
Romania). Brancusi was revered by his
contemporaries and remains a seminal figure
in 20th-century sculpture. In 1904 he walked
from Romania to Paris, where he worked
briefly in Rodin's studio. He began to
explore direct carving in marble (producing
many versions of Rodin's The Kiss).