SOMETIME AROUND 1909, THE Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși was approached by “a lady from Paris, a princess” with a commission to carve her portrait. Brâncuși, a leading Modernist, had a “miserably low opinion” of traditional sculpture, even describing Michelangelo’s work as “nothing but muscle, beefsteak … beefsteak run amok” — “bifteck” with its similarity to a slab of clay being a favoured term of abuse.
The lady, however, was persistent. During a meal together he noted that while “She had a beautiful bust” she also had “ugly legs and was terribly vain … She was looking in the mirror all the time, even during lunch … discreetly placing the mirror on the table, looking furtive.”
Nevertheless, something in her narcissism tickled him and he turned this “vain and sensual” woman…
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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2024