id: 173114 accession number: 1937.3205 share license status: Copyrighted url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1937.3205 updated: 2023-03-25 11:14:25.918000 Male Torso, 1917. Constantin Brancusi (Romanian, 1876–1957). Brass; without base: 63.8 x 30.5 x 19.1 cm (25 1/8 x 12 x 7 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection 1937.3205 © Succession Brancusi - All rights reserved (ARS) title: Male Torso title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1917 creation date earliest: 1917 creation date latest: 1917 current location: 223 20th Century Avant-Garde creditline: Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection copyright: © Succession Brancusi - All rights reserved (ARS) --- culture: France, 20th century technique: brass department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture collection: Mod Euro - Sculpture 1800-1960 type: Sculpture find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Constantin Brancusi (Romanian, 1876–1957) - artist Constantin Brancusi Romanian, 1876-1957 Constantin Brancusi was one of the outstanding sculptors of the 20th century. The Romanian-born artist also was actively engaged in making photographs of his sculpture throughout much of his career, creating images that fall into two main categories: views of his studio and pictures of single works. Following studies at the School of Arts and Crafts in Craiova, the National School of Fine Arts in Bucharest, and the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Brancusi began exhibiting his sculpture in Paris in 1906. It is not known when he first began to photograph his pieces. However, by 1921 he was interested in improving his photographic skills and asked Man Ray for technical advice, as well as for suggestions for buying equipment and setting up a darkroom. Brancusi used photography not only to document his sculpture, but also to promote it. He would make sets of photographs showing front, back, and side views of a piece that could be sent to prospective buyers outside Paris. Although Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen, among others, also photographed his sculpture, Brancusi felt that only he could produce images that did justice to his work. Making his own photographs also allowed him to present his sculpture as he wanted it to be seen. Well aware of the influence of light, Brancusi often experimented with lighting effects to emphasize the dynamic qualities of a piece. When he died in 1957, more than 550 negatives and 1,000 prints were found in his studio. In addition to a Brancusi photograph, the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection includes one of his sculptures. M.M. --- measurements: without base: 63.8 x 30.5 x 19.1 cm (25 1/8 x 12 x 7 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: signed on bottom: C. Brancusi, Paris, 1917. translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Sculpture of Our Time opening date: 1937-11-04T04:00:00 Sculpture of Our Time. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 4-December 5, 1937). title: The Silver Jubilee Exhibition opening date: 1941-06-23T04:00:00 The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). title: Rouault: Retrospective Exhibition 1953 opening date: 1953-01-28T05:00:00 Rouault: Retrospective Exhibition 1953. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 28-March 15, 1953). title: Primitive to Contemporary Sculpture opening date: 1956-09-06T04:00:00 Primitive to Contemporary Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 6-October 31, 1956). title: Paths of Abstract Art opening date: 1960-10-05T04:00:00 Paths of Abstract Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 5-November 13, 1960). title: Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960 opening date: 1987-09-16T04:00:00 Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 16-November 8, 1987). title: Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art opening date: 2006-05-27T00:00:00 Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE (Joseph Brummer Gallery) date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Brancusi studied under Auguste Rodin but left after a few months, commenting: "Nothing can grow under big trees." digital description: wall description: Hoping to reveal the "true sense of things," Brancusi mused, "What can sculpture do without?" This sculpture reduces the human form to a timeless, universal essence. The smooth, highly polished brass surface was unusual at a time when most metal sculptures were cast in dull bronze. Not only does the reflective surface unify the parts into one continuous form, but it also dematerializes the sculpture's mass, transforming the figure into a spiritual lightness. Brancusi made three versions of this sculpture: a wood version (Philadelphia Museum of Art) and two in brass (this museum and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden). --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 338 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n65 Cleveland Museum of Art, Edward B. Henning. Paths of Abstract Art. Cleveland, OH: H.N. Abrams, 1960. page number: Reproduced: fig. 2, p. 5; mentioned: pp. 5,19 url: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. page number: Reproduced: p. 197 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n221 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. page number: Reproduced: p. 197 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n221 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. page number: Reproduced: p. 246 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n266 Henning, Edward B. Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Published by the Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1987. page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 125, no. 33 url: Hultén, Pontus, Alexandre Istrati, Natalia Dumitresco, and Jeanne Bouniort. Constantin Brancusi. Paris, France: Flammarion, 1995. page number: Reproduced: p. 16; Mentioned: p. 17 url: Flynn, Tom. The Body in Three Dimensions. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 1998. page number: Reproduced: p. 136; Mentioned: p. 137 url: Nielsen, Anne Marie. Tæt på en torso: Belvedere-torsoen som kunstværk og forbillede. København, Denmark: Ny Carlsberg glyptotek, 2001. page number: Reproduced: p. 91, fig. 24 url: Baselitz, Georg, Wolfgang Brückle, Auguste Rodin, and Andreas Schalhorn. Von Rodin bis Baselitz: der Torso in der Skulptur der Moderne ; [Katalogbuch zur Ausstellung "Von Rodin bis Baselitz - Der Torso in der Skulptur der Moderne" in der Staatsgalerie Stuttgart vom 7. April bis 19. August 2001]. Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2001. page number: Reproduced: p. 40 url: Varnedoe, Kirk. Pictures of Nothing: Abstract Art Since Pollock. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006. page number: Reproduced: p. 200, fig. 5, 16 url: Adams, Laurie. The Making and Meaning of Art. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006. N70 .A33 2006 page number: Reproduced: p. 253, fig. 13.9 url: Etschmann, Walter, and Robert Hahne. Kammerlohr: Themen der Kunst : Design. München, Germany: Oldenbourg, 2008. page number: Reproduced: p. 5 url: Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 298-299 url: --- IMAGES