Topic 2 - The Kiss, Brancusi, 1907

when was it made?

1907

who sculpted it?

Brancusi

what material is it made from?

limestone

there is reference to…

Eastern European folk art motifs and methods

arrived in Paris in..

1904

had been taught traditional methods of sculpture at the…

Bucharest Academy

who assisted Brancusi in Paris?

Rodin

his key method is…

direct carving

the work is seen as an example of his ….. style

proto-cubist

Brancusi believes that the traditional ways of sculpting were…

not led by the properties of the material - less authentic

he rejected the practice of sculptors working from a…

model or maquette

he insisted that sculptors should have direct and…

intimate contact with their materials

the work is considered to be the first sculpture to be created using the method of…

direct carving

Brancusi wanted to ‘reveal…

the hand of the artist’

the forms are…

simple and uncluttered by detail

the texture and shape of the original block of stone is….

retained

the idea of the ‘primitive’ is seen through the…

material, and merging genders

details are limited, only indication of human features are the…

eyes, hair, suggestion of locked lips and the arms

indication of gender is also boiled down e.g. the women is recognisable through…

a suggestion of breasts and long hair

this down play of gendered difference is an attempt to…

universalise the human experience

Brancusi wanted to reveal the fundamental …. of the subject

‘essence’

there seems to be an attempt to reference the ancient forms of ….. sculpture, seen to be more….

archaic / honest and spiritual

brancusi wanted to be viewed as an….

‘artisan sculptor’

he often stresses the use of …. materials

local - relationship with the landscape and its people