The Brancusi Studio

A Romanian sculptor who became naturalised in France, and the creator of The Kiss and The Bird in Space, Constantin Brancusi stood out for his relationship with his studio. It is impossible to understand his work without immersing yourself in his workspace.

The studio, an integral part of Brancusi's work

In a studio, an artist creates. For Brancusi, the studio is the work. The sculptures are each placed at a chosen spot. There is a close spatial relationship between them. Some of them form "moving groups": links are forged between the works and the ensemble forms a whole.

In the 1920s, the artist opened the doors of his studio, which became a showroom. A work of art in its own right. Every day, the artist adjusts the position of each sculpture. So much so that we no longer create new ones, but simply work on the place of each within this vast whole.

From Impasse Ronsin to the Centre Pompidou

Brancusi bequeathed his entire studio, located at 8 and then 11 Impasse Ronsin in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, to the French state if an "identical reconstruction" was undertaken after his death.

The first partial reconstruction was done in 1962 at the Musée National d'Art Moderne. Then a second identical one in 1977, opposite the Centre Pompidou. It was closed in 1990 after flooding.

In 1997, the architect Renzo Piano was commissioned to design the site for a new reconstruction. In an annex, on the plaza of the Centre Pompidou, a museum space into which the studio is inserted is open to the public.

The figures are staggering. 600 m2 of 137 sculptures, 87 original pedestals, 41 drawings, 2 paintings and 1,600 glass photographic plates and original prints. The best way to understand the work of this key artist of the first half of the 20th century.

And if you want to discover other artistic voices, other works, other movements, you can do so in the many museums and cultural sites in the Paris Region.