''The Kiss'' (in Romanian: Sărutul /səruːtul/) is a sculpture by Romanian Modernist sculptor

Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian Sculpture, sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century and a pioneer of ...

. It is an early example of his proto-cubist style of non-literal representation. This sculpture is considered the first modern sculpture of the twentieth century. This plaster was exhibited at the 1913 Armory Show and published in the '' Chicago Tribune'' of 25 March 1913. This early plaster sculpture is one of six casts that Brancusi made of the 190708 ''The Kiss''. It is a symbolistic work of two lovers embracing, a theme represented in numerous pieces of art full of erotism, from Auguste Rodin and Edvard Munch, to Gustave Moreau.

Versions

The original Marne stone carving is at Craiova Art Museum, in Romania. Brâncuși created many versions of ''The Kiss'', further simplifying geometric forms and sparse objects in each version, tending each time further toward abstraction. His abstract style emphasizes simple geometrical lines that balance forms inherent in his materials with the symbolic allusions of

representational art Representation is the use of signs that stand in for and take the place of something else.Mitchell, W. 1995, "Representation", in F Lentricchia & T McLaughlin (eds), ''Critical Terms for Literary Study'', 2nd edn, University of Chicago Press, Chica ...

. Here, the shape of the original block of material is maintained. Another version of ''The Kiss'' serves as an adornment of a tomb in

Montparnasse cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery (french: link=no, Cimetière du Montparnasse) is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery ...

in Paris, France but has since August 2017 been covered up in a box.
Another version
still can be seen at the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

.Philadelphia Museum of Art version
/ref> This version of ''The Kiss'' is one of the artist's most well known works, along with ''

Sleeping Muse ''The Sleeping Muse'' ( ro, Muza adormită or ) is a bronze sculpture created by Constantin Brâncuși in 1910. It was originally carved from marble using Baroness Renée-Irana Frachon as the model. Refining the sculpture, Brâncuși cast several ...

'' (1908), ''Prometheus'' (1911), ''Mademoiselle Pogany'' (1913), ''The Newborn'' (1915), '' Bird in Space'' (1919) and '' The Column of the Infinite (Coloana infinitului)'', known as ''The Endless Column'' (1938).

References

External links

Artsy, ''The Kiss'', Nasher Sculpture Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiss, The (Brancusi sculpture) Sculptures by Constantin Brâncuși 1908 sculptures Sculptures in France Works about kissing