Constantin Brancusi | Bird in Space | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bird in Space

Artist: Constantin Brancusi (French (born Romania), Hobita 1876–1957 Paris)

Date: 1923

Medium: Marble

Dimensions: 56 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. (144.1 x 16.5 cm) (with base)

Classification: Sculpture

Credit Line: Bequest of Florene M. Schoenborn, 1995

Accession Number: 1996.403.7ab

On view in Gallery 913

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From the 1920s to the 1940s, the theme of a bird in flight preoccupied Brancusi. He concentrated on the animals’ movement, rather than their physical attributes. In Bird in Space, the sculptor eliminated wings and feathers, elongated the swell of the body, and reduced the head and beak to a slanted oval plane. Balanced on a slender conical footing, the figure’s upward thrust appears unfettered. This sculpture is part of a series that includes seven marble sculptures and nine bronze casts.

Exhibition History

Paris. Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou. "Constantin Brancusi, 1876–1957," April 14–August 21, 1995, no. 68.

Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Constantin Brancusi, 1876–1957," October 8–December 31, 1995, no. 68.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions," October 24, 2008–February 1, 2009, online catalogue.