Constantin Brancusi

Constantin Brancusi’s initial foray into photography began as a means to document his sculptural output, with the goal of providing John Quinn, an important New York-based collector, images of new work. While Brancusi was familiar with photography, having made photographs as early as 1905, he called on his friend Man Ray for help to improve his technique and for equipment recommendations. The endeavor evolved quickly into an exploration of a new artistic medium for the famed modernist artist. 

Brancusi’s studio was at the core of his artistic identity. He believed that he was the only person suited to document his sculptural works and wanted them to be viewed only within the studio space where they had been created. Brancusi's placement of the sculptures was deliberate, designed to convey both the autonomy of each work and its harmony as part of the whole. Upon his death, Brancusi bequeathed his studio, its contents, and more than 1,000 photographs to the French government. His studio has since been rebuilt outside the Pompidou Centre in Paris.