129. The Kiss, Constantin Brancusi

 

The Kiss  Constantin Brancusi. 1907-1908 C.E. Romanian. Limestone Marked a major departure from the emotive realism of Rodin's famous handling of the same subject. This 1916 version is the most geometric of Brancusi's series, reflecting the influence of Cubism in its sharply defined corners. Its composition, texture, and material highlight Brancusi's fascination with both the forms and spirituality of African, Assyrian, and Egyptian art. That attraction also led Brancusi to craft The Kiss using direct carving, a technique that had become popular in France at the time due to an interest in "primitive" methods. These sculptures signify his shift toward simplified forms, as well as his interest in contrasting textures - both key aspects of his later work.

Form: limestone

Function: to express a subject in it's most pure form

Content: intertwined figures with interlocking forms woman on the right slightly thinner, eye slightly smaller bulge suggests breasts two eyes become one the structure of the limestone stays true leaving the surface raw and archaic return to a primitive form after the exactitude of the renaissance and the baroque and the 19th century etc rejecting the academy

Context: cubism breaking the human form into angles and shapes  Brancusi  Romanian-born french sculptor outsider in the art world Romania: long tradition of stone/wood carving devoted to finding the simplest and most elegant way to express the essence of his chosen subject worked in Rodin's studio (see Rodin's "The Kiss") Many versions of this work 1st: One of Brancusi's earliest efforts at stone cutting 2nd: plaster cast - exhibited at an art show 3rd: used as a tombstone in paris over a suicide victim 4th: done as a commission. In the Philly Museum of Art there might be more undocumented versions