Constantin Brâncuși Mlle Pogany version I, 1913 (after a marble of 1912)

  • MoMA, Floor 5, 500

Mlle Pogany is a portrait of Margit Pogany, a Hungarian artist who sat for Brâncuși several times in 1910 and 1911. Shortly after her return to Hungary, Brâncuși carved a marble Mlle Pogany from memory, then made a plaster mold from which he cast four additional versions, including this bronze. In representing its subject through highly stylized and simplified forms, the work departed significantly from conventional portraiture. Large almond-shaped eyes overwhelm the oval face, and a black patina represents the hair that covers the top of the head and extends over the elaborate chignon at the nape of the neck.

Gallery label from 2019
Additional text

This sculpture is a portrait of Margit Pogany, a Hungarian artist who sat for Brâncuși several times in 1910 and 1911 while she was in Paris studying painting. Shortly after her return to Hungary, Brâncuși carved a marble Mlle Pogany from memory, then made a plaster mold of the work, from which he cast four additional versions, including this one, in bronze. In representing its subject through highly stylized and simplified forms, the work was a significant departure from conventional portraiture. Large almond-shaped eyes overwhelm the oval face, and a black patina represents the hair that
covers the top of the head and extends over the elaborate chignon at the nape of the neck. As with other motifs, this was a subject Brâncuși would return to and rework in the years to come.

Gallery label from Constantin Brâncuși Sculpture, 2018
Medium
Bronze with black patina 17 1/4 x 8 1/2 x 12 1/2" (43.8 x 21.5 x 31.7 cm), on limestone base 5 3/4 x 6 1/8 x 7 3/8" (14.6 x 15.6 x 18.7 cm)
Dimensions
17 1/4 × 8 1/2 × 12 1/2" (43.8 × 21.6 × 31.8 cm) Other (bronze): 17 1/4 × 8 1/2 × 12 1/2" (43.8 × 21.6 × 31.8 cm) 5 3/4 × 6 1/8 × 7 3/8" (14.6 × 15.6 × 18.7 cm) Other (approx. weight): 40 lb. (18.1 kg)
Credit
Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest (by exchange)
Object number
2.1953
Copyright
© Succession Brancusi - All rights reserved (ARS) 2018
Department
Painting and Sculpture

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Provenance Research Project

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1913 Margit Pogany (the model; received as a gift from the artist)
1953 The Museum of Modern Art, New York (purchased from the above)

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