To present the artist and the man Constantin Brâncuși in a few lines is an ephemeral attempt. There is so much to say about the “Colossus of Hobița”, that hundreds of thousands of pages have been written and are still being written. Constantin Brâncuși was born in the village of Hobița in the commune of Peștișani, not far from Târgu Jiu, in February 1876. He was the sixth child of a family of Romanian peasants. The father of modern sculpture carried the consciousness of his birthplace throughout his life, often manifesting his longing and melancholy for his native lands in Hobița. Constantin Brâncuși’s artistic beginnings are lost in his childhood in Gorj, when he was influenced by the nature of his native places, the spirit of the Romanian peasant and archaic folk art. Until 1894, Brâncuși practiced various trades in Oltenia, constantly driven by the desire to know the world. In 1894, after working as a shop boy for several years in Craiova, he enrolled in the School of Trades in the same city. He attended the sculpture section of this school until 1898. From Craiova, he headed to Bucharest, where he began classes at the School of Fine Arts, with financial support from the Epitropia Madona Dudu in Craiova. He graduated from the school in 1901. Already during these studies, Brâncuși formed his own artistic style in sculpture, being more interested in simple, pure forms than in the perfect reproduction of visual forms. He sacrificed a lot for his artistic ideal. For the period from the summer of 1903 and until he arrived in Paris, there is not enough information to create a precise description. Brancusi worked for a while in the country to raise money for his dream of studying abroad.

However, the road to Paris was not easy or direct. He went through numerous hardships and trials, which strengthened his spirit and determination. From his native Gorj, he went to Vienna, and from there, he stopped in Munich. Due to material shortages, the road was extremely difficult, often having to walk long distances. From Munich, he decided that Paris was the only viable option to realize himself as an artist. For financial reasons, he walked most of the way to Paris, having to sell his watch and clothes at one point. He passed through the Swiss cities of Zurich and Basel. Everywhere, he researched museums and the works of great classical artists. He arrived in Paris in the spring of 1904, putting an end to a road that seemed endless. In Paris, Brâncuși would also work in the studio of Auguste Rodin, one of France’s greatest sculptors, but he quickly understood that he could not achieve his artistic ideals by working for someone else. In Paris, one of the greatest sculptors of the modern era would be formed, called by many “the father of modern sculpture”. It was also in Paris that Brâncuși created the masterpieces that would make him recognized throughout the world. Works such as “Miss Pogany”, “Child’s Head”, “Supliciu”, “The Kiss”, “The Sleeping Muse”, “Prayer”, “The Masterful Bird” or “The Bird in the Air” revolutionized sculpture and modern art. The works in the Monumental Ensemble in Târgu Jiu were the sculptor’s gift to his homeland. Constantin Brâncuși passed away on March 16, 1957, with the only great regret being unable to revisit his birthplace of Hobița. Brâncuși’s grave is in the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris, but his memory and masterpieces are spread throughout the world, being universally appreciated.