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Study for the Sculpture "The First Step"

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

Date:
ca. 1913
Medium:
Wax crayon on paper
Dimensions:
20 x 12 1/4 in. (50.8 x 31.1 cm)
Classification:
Drawings
Credit Line:
Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949
Accession Number:
49.70.25
Rights and Reproduction:
© 2011 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

This artwork is part of African Art, New York, and the Avant-Garde

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 359

  • Description

    Brancusi made his most obvious reference to African art in his first wood sculpture, The First Step (1913). Shortly after exhibiting the work at 291 in March 1914, Brancusi partly destroyed it, perhaps finding its quotation of African aesthetics too immediate. Luckily, the sculpture remains known through the many studies that preceded its creation, among them this lucid 1913 wax-crayon study. Stieglitz's photographs of the Brancusi installation at 291 also document the lost sculpture. When comparing these installation shots with those of Statuary in Wood by African Savages, the central placement of both the Fang reliquary figure exhibited nearby and The First Step brings to light strong similarities.

  • Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

    Signature: Signed (lower right): C. Brancusi

  • Exhibition History

    New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ¦Drawings from the Alfred Stieglitz Collection¦, September 9-November 12, 1967 (no catalogue, typed checklist only)

    Paris, France: Centre Georges Pompidou, 14 avril au 21 août 1995. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: October 8 - December 31,1995. ¦Brancusi¦, (not catalogued)

210008692

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