- A Muse
Explore Further
Arriving in Paris from Romania in 1904, Constantin
Brancusi found inspiration in ancient Cycladic sculptures and African art. His
goal in sculpture was to reveal the essence of a subject rather than its
exterior form. To achieve this objective, Brancusi abandoned the academic
method of modeling in clay and instead carved directly from stone.
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.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
