Constantin Brancusi’s luminous photographic study of his sculpture Mademoiselle Pogany II was originally in the collection of photographer Edward Steichen and was presumably acquired from the sculptor himself. Steichen was first introduced to Brancusi in the studio of August Rodin in the early years of the 20th century. In 1910, Steichen encountered Brancusi’s work at the Salon des Indépendants and became enamored with a sleek bronze figure entitled L'Oiseau d'Or. When the work went unsold at the exhibition, Steichen took it as an opportunity to approach the artist about purchasing it. On Steichen’s subsequent visit to Brancusi’s studio, the two renewed their acquaintance and became close friends.
Brancusi’s photographs of his sculptures reveal his ongoing evolution in both practices. After studying at the School of Arts and Crafts in Craiova (1894–1898) and the National School of Fine Arts in Bucharest (1898–1902), Brancusi moved to Paris in 1904. The next year he enrolled at the famed École des Beaux-Arts and soon began an apprenticeship under the sculptor August Rodin. In 1905, Brancusi began photographing his own sculptures, always within the intimate and familiar confines of his studio. It was his strong belief that only he, as the sculptor, could capture the essence of his works photographically. For Brancusi, these photographs served a dual function—enhancing his own understanding of his sculptures as well as turning the photographs into ‘printed memories,’ as he termed them, depictions of the sculptures’ essence by which he wanted them remembered.
