One of the most influential artists
\nof the 20th century, the Romanian-born sculptor Constantin Brancusi
\nis one of the founding figures of modernism. His choice of material includes
\nmarble, limestone, bronze and wood. Christie’s, one of the world’s most
\nprestigious auction houses and the biggest dealer of Brancusi’s works, also
\nholds the record for the highest price paid for a Brancusi sculpture at 27.4
\nmillion dollars. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
While celebrated abroad, Brancusi
\nhas not always enjoyed the same recognition at home, in Romania. Suffice it to
\nsay that it wasn’t until the 19th of February this year that a
\nnational day was declared to celebrate this great artist. There is also a
\nproposal to establish a national museum named after Brancusi in Targu Jiu,
\nclose to the village where he was born. The new museum may even exhibit some of
\nhis works on loan from his famous studio in Paris. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Recently, the Romanian state also
<\/p>\n
Dating back to 1907, The Wisdom of
<\/p>\n
The Wisdom of the Earth<\/em> will now
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Romanian state plans to purchase Constantin Brancusis sculpture The Wisdom of the Earth from private owner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":67863,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[30160,30372,30161],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-67862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-brancusi","tag-sculpture","tag-wisdom-of-the-earth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nsaid it planned to start talks with a view to purchasing Brancusi’s work The
\nWisdom of the Earth<\/em>, which had been put up for sale by a private collector in
\nRomania. On Wednesday, the culture minister Vlad Alexandrescu posted a Facebook
\nmessage saying the owners of the sculpture accepted the 11 million euro offer
\nmade by the Romanian state. The government will pay 5 of the 11 million, while
\nthe rest is to be covered by public donations. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nthe Earth was created, along with The Kiss<\/em> and Prayer<\/em>, while Brancusi was at
\nthe height of his creative powers. During its lifetime, the sculpture has had
\ntwo owners. The first was engineer Gheorghe Romascu, a good friend of Brancusi
\nwho bought it from the artist in 1911. In 1957, the work was confiscated
\nabusively by the newly instated communist regime and exhibited at the National
\nMuseum of Art. Following a lengthy trial, the work was returned to Romascu’s
\ndescendants. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nbelong to the Romanian nation. Minister Alexandrescu says the state must put
\nright the injustice against Brancusi made in the 1950s, when the communists
\ndeclared his work an example of decadent and formalist art and even planned to
\ndemolish his outdoor Endless Column<\/em> work in Targu Jiu. <\/p>\n