Man Ray, Noire et blanche (Black and white), 1926. Black and white photographic print

Brancusi, Rosso, Man Ray – Framing Sculpture

The work of three of the most influential artists of the twentieth century is currently on view in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen: Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957), Medardo Rosso (1858-1928) and Man Ray (1890-1976). Masterpieces will be flown in from top collections all over the world. A group of forty sculptures and more than sixty photographs that the artists took of their sculptures afford a unique insight into their artistic practice.

Man Ray, Le Violon d’Ingres (Ingres’s Violin or The Hobby), 1924. Gelatine silver print, 17.2 x 22.4 cm

The rare confrontation of these three artists in a single exhibition reveals unexpected similarities in their experimental and groundbreaking approach. Although none of them was French, they each lived and worked in Paris for an important part of their careers. Man Ray helped Brancusi to create a darkroom in his studio, where he could develop his photographs, but did not rate Brancusi’s photographs highly, although he greatly admired his sculptures. There is a clear similarity between the pose of famous model Kiki de Montparnasse in Man Ray’s photo “Noire et blanche” (1926) and Brancusi’s sculpture “Muse Endormie” (1910), which was in turn influenced by a Rosso’s “Enfant malade” (1893-95).

Medardo Rosso, Enfant malade (Sick child), c.1909

Visitors to the exhibition can experiment themselves with photography and representation. In three multimedia spaces they can use the techniques employed by Brancusi, Rosso and Man Ray. The exhibition is accompanied by a specially developed multimedia tour, which will enrich the visitor’s experience through texts, images, audio and video.

Man Ray, L’Énigme d’Isidore Ducasse (The Riddle of Isidore Ducasse), 1920 (1971)

Brancusi’s sculpture “La Muse endormie” (1910) can be seen in the exhibition from 20 February 2014. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see this work in Rotterdam. The fragile bronze sculpture is one of the highlights of the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Constantin Brancusi, La Muse endormie (Sleeping muse), 1910. Bronze, 16.1 x 27.7 x 19.3 cm

For the duration of  “Brancusi, Rosso, Man Ray – Framing Sculpture”, the Video Room will be wholly devoted to avant-garde cinema. The museum is showing a number of recently rediscovered films by Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) and experimental films by Man Ray (1890-1976) and others. They used these experiments to address the question of how to look at an object rather than what to look for.

Constantin Brancusi, Princesse X (Princess X), c. 1930. Ggelatin silver print, 29.7 x 23.7 cm

 The exhibition “Brancusi, Rosso, Man Ray – Framing Sculpture” runs from 8 February 2014  till 11 May 2014.

more. www.boijmans.nl/brancusi-rosso-man-ray