Modernist's atelier in Paris
PARIS - Across from the Pompidou Centre, the Atelier Brancusi offers an exciting perspective into the creative life of Constantin Brancusi, a pioneering 20th-century abstract sculptor.
The artist bequeathed everything in his studio to France - finished works, works in progress, sketches, furniture, library, record collection, and tools - on condition that the Musée National d'Art Moderne reconstruct it exactly as it stood on the day of his death. The result is this gem of a small museum designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano. And it's free.
Brancusi (1876-1957) was born in Romania, immigrated to France, and became a French citizen. Like many artists of the period, he maintained a studio near Montparnasse. His circle of friends included Henri Matisse, Fernand Léger, Auguste Rodin, and Amedeo Modigliani.
The artist's well-worn tools are arranged just as he left them on his workbench. Works in various states of completion crowd a nearby room. Sculptures of geometric columns, his iconic head form, and flocks of streamlined bird shapes in marble, bronze, and wood are perpetually frozen in time and space, monuments to Brancusi's soaring imagination.
Atelier Brancusi, Pompidou Centre plaza, Rue St. Martin and Rue Rambuteau. Daily 2-6 p.m. except Tuesdays. 011-44-78-12-33. www.centrepompidou.fr.
SHIRLEY MOSKOW 