Constantin Brancusi
A Muse

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

CultureFrench

Titles

A Muse

Date1917

PlaceFrance

MediumPolished brass with limestone base

Dimensions19 5/8 × 11 11/16 × 9 5/8 in. (49.8 × 29.7 × 24.4 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Mrs. Herman Brown and Mrs. William Stamps Farish

Object number62.1

Current Location

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building

Gallery 203

On view

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Department

Arts of Europe and the Mediterranean

Object Type

SCULPTURE

DescriptionArriving in Paris from Romania in 1904,
Constantin Brancusi took inspiration from
ancient Cycladic and African art as he pared
away all but the most elemental forms in his
sculptures. With Baroness Renée-Irana Frachon
as his model, he first carved a marble version
of A Muse in 1912. Revisiting the subject in 1917,
he elongated the proportions and modified
the facial features, translating the original
marble into polished brass. For Brancusi,
the egg-like shape of the head symbolized
the miracle of creation; he commented
“with this form I could move the universe.”
ProvenanceCommissioned by John Quinn, 1917; sold by the artist to John Quinn, New York, 1918; Estate of John Quinn, c. 1924-1926; Earl Horter, Philadelphia, April 23, 1926-1936; Ray Spreter, Galdwyne, 1936-1961; bought by MFAH with funds provided by Mrs. Herman Brown and Mrs. William Stamps Farish, 1962.

Exhibition History“Exhibition of Contemporary French Art,” The Sculptor’s Gallery, New York City, March 24–April 10, 1922.

“Living Artists: An Exhibition of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture,” The Pennsylvania Museum of Art, November 20, 1931–January 1, 1932.

“Some Recent Accessions 1961-1963,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 4–June 2, 1963.

“Sculpture from the Museum of Modern Art, New York,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, December 13, 1963–April 23, 1964.

“Selections and Accessions,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 9–April 2, 1967.

“The Governor’s Conference on the Arts,” Texas Fine Arts Commission, Austin, March 31–April 2, 1968.

"Constantin Brancusi, 1876-1957, A Retrospective Exhibition," Philadelphia Museum of Art, September 18–October 1969; Guggenheim Museum, New York, November 20, 1969–February 1970; The Art Institute of Chicago, 1970.

"Sculpture: 1920s and 1930s," University of California, Santa Barbara, February 22–March 26 1972.

“Modern Sculpture in Houston,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, August 14–September 15, 1974.

"The Noble Buyer: John Quinn, Patron of the Avant Garde," Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C., June 15–September 4, 1978.

"Brancusi as Photographer," San Antonio Museum Association, January 15–April 15, 1982.

"A Century of Modern Sculpture 1882-1982," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, January 14, 1983–January 31, 1984.

"Direction and Diversity: Twentieth Century Art in the Museum Collection,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 21–September 3, 1988.

"Constantin Brancusi and Richard Serra: Resting in Time and Space," Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, Switzerland, May 22–September 4, 2011; Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, October 7, 2011–April 15, 2012.

"Medardo Rosso, Constantin Brancusi, and Man Ray," Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, February 8–May 25, 2014.

“Europe 1900–1975: Selections from the Museum’s Collection,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 4, 2014–January 4, 2015.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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