What makes a great artist? Divine talent is a good start. Next comes a strong work ethic, a little luck and, to top it all off, a handful of useful social contacts. For Constantin Brancusi, it’s tough determination and a sturdy pair of walking boots.
Of all the artistic greats who came to Paris at the turn of the century, none was as ambitious and traveled further than the Romanian sculptor.
In 1903, Brancusi set out from Bucharest to the French capital, completing the 2,400-kilometer journey mostly on foot. It took him a good year, he had to sleep outdoors, and he had to rely on the generosity of strangers. Brancusi was not driven by the romantic idea of exploring Europe or immersing himself in nature; he was simply broke and had no other choice.
Brancusi’s journey took him via Budapest, Vienna, Munich (where he took a break to work as a stonemason), Zurich, Basel, Alsace and finally Langres, from where he boarded a train thanks to funds transferred to him by a friend.
Constantin Brancusi, Endless column ensemble (1935–38). Photo: Biris Paul Silviu/Getty Images.
Brancusi was born in a hamlet at the foot of the Transylvanian Alps and grew up as one of seven children in a peasant household. Oppressed by the repressive social conditions and limited opportunities, Brancusi twice tried to run away from home, but failed. At the age of 11, he managed to take menial jobs and enroll in a school in Tirgu Jiu – the later location of Endless column ensemble (1935–38), the only public sculptures Brancusi ever created.
From there, Brancusi first attended the School of Applied Arts in Craiova and then the Bucharest Academy of Fine Arts, where he excelled and perfected the anatomically precise academic style of sculpture that he later abruptly abandoned in Paris. His last work from this period is a testament to this style – a bust of Carol Davila, considered the founder of modern medicine in Romania, in full costume (Brancusi worked from a death mask).
Constantin Brancusi, Carol Davila is one of the world’s leading figures. She is the first to give birth to her children. (1903). Photo: Central Military University Hospital for Emergencies/Bucharest.
Brancusi’s place in Paris seemed predetermined, but freshly discharged from Romanian military service, it was Italy rather than France that called him. But when the Madona Dudu Church in Craiova rejected his grant proposals, Brancusi changed his focus and set off.
He arrived in Paris at the age of 28 and fought his way to success. After a year of deprivation and adjustment, during which he was not allowed to practice sculpture professionally, he enrolled in the studio of Antonin Mercie at the École des Beaux-Arts. Brancusi earned his living as a dishwasher and altar boy in the city’s Romanian Orthodox church. Then his exhibition at the Salon d’Autumne in 1906 got him a job as a technician in the studio of Auguste Rodin, where he transferred the master’s compositions from clay to stone.
Rodin was Brancusi’s idol and the undisputed artistic heavyweight of his time. But the younger artist gave up after a month because, as he so aptly put it, “nothing grows under big trees.” After the unusual and arduous journey that brought Brancusi to Paris, it should come as no surprise that he continued to pursue his own path there.
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