Brancusi’s Romanian Sculptures Join UNESCO World Heritage List

BUCHAREST (Reuters) – UNESCO has included a series of outdoor sculptures by Romanian modernist master Constantin Brancusi in its list of world heritage sites, acknowledging them as one of the most significant examples of 20th-century public art.

Brancusi crafted this open-air collection, which includes famous pieces such as the “Endless Column” and the “Gate of the Kiss,” in the small south-western Romanian town of Targu Jiu during 1937-1938. These works stand as a tribute to the soldiers who fell during World War I.

The collection consists of five sculptural installations arranged along a 1.5-kilometer axis on Targu Jiu’s central Avenue of Heroes. Notably, these are among the few Brancusi works located in his native Romania.

“The granted recognition forces us to protect the monumental ensemble, to keep it intact for future generations and for humanity’s cultural memory,” Romanian Culture Minister Raluca Turcan shared.

Brancusi hailed from the small village of Hobita near the Carpathian Mountains but spent most of his life in Paris.

He arrived in Paris in 1904 after walking for 18 months and eventually found himself working under the renowned sculptor Auguste Rodin. Though he left Rodin’s studio in 1907, saying “nothing grows under big trees,” Brancusi went on to become one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

After his death in 1957, he bequeathed his studio and some of his artworks to the French state. Initially, he wished to donate his art to Romania, but the communist government at the time declined the offer.

In 2023, the western Romanian city of Timisoara hosted the first retrospective exhibit of Brancusi’s works to be held in his home country in over 50 years. Concurrently, a comprehensive Brancusi exhibit recently concluded at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Source: Reuters, UNESCO