Product Description This volume in the Modern Masters series is an important and perceptive study of the sculptor Constantin Brancusi, whose arresting forms have exerted a powerful impact on the art of this century. By incisively evaluating the diverse influences that channeled into the artist's work — including his academic training and brief apprenticeship with Auguste Rodin, the folk art and architecture of his native Romania, Cubism, and African art — Eric Shanes has produced an insightful study that reveals how this complex artist achieved the expressive simplicity of his innovative sculptures. An extensive "Notes on Technique" section, illustrated with evocative views of the artist's studio, illuminates Brancusi's methods of working in all media, including photography, which he used to record his own ideas about how his sculpture should be seen. The many photographs by Brancusi are complemented by sensitive color illustrations that capture the essence of his art. Written with a clarity of prose that well serves the clarity of the sculptor's own work, this much-needed book presents the fascinating story of a profoundly influential artist. About the Modern Masters series: With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations — approximately 48 in full color — this innovative series offers a fresh look at the most creative and influential artists of the postwar era. The authors are highly respected art historians and critics chosen for their ability to think clearly and write well. Each handsomely designed volume presents a thorough survey of the artist's life and work, as well as statements by the artist, an illustrated chapter on technique, a chronology, lists of exhibitions and public collections, an annotated bibliography, and an index. Every art lover, from the casual museumgoer to the serious student, teacher, critic, or curator, will be eager to collect these Modern Masters. And with such a low price, they can afford to collect them all. From Publishers Weekly Shanes, a British painter and art historian, here reconciles the "formal simplicity" of Brancusi's (1876-1957) sculpture with its "richness of meaning." He treats the works thematically, dividing them into categories, following their chronological development and illustrating his analysis with his own photographs of the sculptures. A chapter about "The Natural World," for example, deals with the celebrated Bird in Space and Fish series. Although Brancusi's oeuvre lends itself well to this compartmentalized approach, the result is slightly fragmented. The last chapter fails to synthesize previous discussions, instead proffering generalities ("Brancusi elevated the idealism of Renaissance art to a new plane, creating a modern sculptural language in the process"). Some of the more challenging modernist issues operating in Brancusi's art--the polarities of real and ideal and abstraction vs. representation--are raised but not resolved. A chapter consisting of the artist's statements on art and a section about his techniques, however, round out the book nicely. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review "Concise, well-produced, and well-written." — New York Book Review "Brief, affordable, well illustrated, and packed with information." — Art in America Praise for the Modern Masters series: "Each author has thoroughly done his or her homework, knows the historical, critical and personal contexts intimately, and writes extraordinarily well." — Artnews About the Author A painter, art historian, and lecturer on the history of modern art, Eric Shanes is also the author of Impressionist London and seven important books on Joseph Mallord William Turner. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. INTRODUCTION Why should a relatively plain iron column in a provincial town in faraway Romania be regarded as one of the high points of modern sculpture? To answer that and related questions concerning the art of C