Sculpture or Three-dimensional Work by Foreign Artist
Inventory Number
88-SF-005
Maiastra is a bird from Romanian fairytales whose song is said to bring people happiness. In Paris in 1927, Isamu Noguchi had studied stone carving under Romanian abstract sculptor Constantin Brancusi, who himself made about 30 works featuring a bird during his career. The first such work was Maiastra (circa 1910), in which the titular bird is represented by a marble bird resembling an egg on a three-tiered pillar. Noguchi began making works celebrating his mentor from around the age of 55. In this one, eight rounded pieces of marble, each contoured differently, are connected together to form a single column and then placed on a square limestone pedestal. The varying lengths and widths of the smoothly polished marble pieces create a comfortable rhythm.
(NAKAMURA Naoaki)
Maiastra is a bird from Romanian fairytales whose song is said to bring people happiness. In Paris in 1927, Isamu Noguchi had studied stone carving under Romanian abstract sculptor Constantin Brancusi, who himself made about 30 works featuring a bird during his career. The first such work was Maiastra (circa 1910), in which the titular bird is represented by a marble bird resembling an egg on a three-tiered pillar. Noguchi began making works celebrating his mentor from around the age of 55. In this one, eight rounded pieces of marble, each contoured differently, are connected together to form a single column and then placed on a square limestone pedestal. The varying lengths and widths of the smoothly polished marble pieces create a comfortable rhythm.
(NAKAMURA Naoaki)