Bird in Space
空間の鳥
- Birth Year
- 1876
- Death Year
- 1957
- Date
- 1926 (cast in 1982)
- Technique, Material, Format
- bronze, marble, limestone
- Dimension
- 132.4 x 35.5 x 35.5 cm
- Edition
- 3/8
- Category
- Sculpture or Three-dimensional Work by Foreign Artist
- Inventory Number
- 84-SF-001
Constantin Brancusi’s Bird in Space stands upright on a pedestal. The head is cut at an angle, the back is straight, the breast bulges forward, and the thighs are held closely together. The feet, slightly askew, stand on a pedestal designed by the artist. Seen from the front, both the bird and the pedestal are symmetrical, as if a single axis runs from the head to the floor. The bird itself is represented only by the subtle curves in its long, slender body. In place of feathers, it has golden skin. The maïastra is a mythical bird from the artist’s native Romania that is believed to have dazzling plumage and be capable of cheering people up with its song. Between 1923 and 1945, Brancusi created seventeen different "Bird in Space" works of varying sizes and proportions. This work was made from a plaster cast dating from 1926.
(NAKAMURA Naoaki)