Hi!
I'm sorry that you had to wait for so long. But I have a feeling that
the wait was not in vain :)
As I told you I went to the public library. I was happy to find a lot
of books about Brancusi, but, as I expected, the vast majority talked
about his art or his becoming as an artist, rather than a man. Also,
many books contained mostly pictures with his works.
I selected a few books that I felt to be somewhat focused on his life.
Only one of them provided what I was (you were) looking for. It's an
old book written by Paleolog Vasile G. entitled "Tineretea lui
Brancusi" (The youth of Brancusi), published by Ed. Tineretului in
1967.
As the title suggests, the book mainly depicts Brancusi as a boy and
as a young man. The book depicts his life chronologically, starting
with his birth (actually before he was born, describing his family).
I will get to the point now and tell you what I found about his life
as student at Scoala de Arte si Meserii din Craiova, Romania.
First of all, for the sake of brevity, I will mention that every quote
that I used here is from the book that I mentioned earlier.
Scoala de Arte si Meserii (The School of Arts and Craftsmanship) from
Craiova was a funded by the state:
Romanian: " "Scoala noastra" era Scoala de Arte si Meserii din
Craiova, o scoala de stat, o creatie a ministrului Gheorghe Chitu
(...)"
English: " "Our school" was the School of Arts and Craftsmanship from
Craiova, a school funded by the state, a creation of the minister
Gheorghe Chitu (...)"
During the time that Brancusi worked as a sort of bus boy, he had the
opportunity to get acquainted with some of the most influential people
in Craiova in those days, most importantly a certain mister Grecescu,
a district advisor (an official position). It was this man who "pulled
the strings" and secured a student position for Brancusi at the school
that I mentioned earlier. This is how he became a student on the 1st
day of September 1894. He would not only attend classes there, but the
school would provide all the basic needs for the young man: manuals,
housing, food, clothes etc.
Quote:
" (...) patrunse cu greu (...) la 1 sept. 1894, in Scoala de Arte si
Meserii din Craiova. El fu primit ca bursier intern, adica noua sa
viata trebuia sa se petreaca intre zidurile scolii, care se ingrijea
nu numai de manuale, intretinere si celelalte, dar si de imbracamintea
bursierului..."
" (...) he hardly was accepted (...) on the 1st day of September, at
the School of Arts and Craftsmanship from Craiova. He was accepted as
an inside student, which meant that his life had to be lived inside
school, which would in turn provide him with manuals, alimony and the
others, but also provide clothes for the scholar..."
Not only that, but the benevolent mister Grecescu obtained for him a
financial aid of 200 Lei per year.
Quote:
"Pentru cheltuielile marunte, Brancusi fiind orfan de tata si mama sa
fiind sarmana, tot Grecescu [consilier judetean la vremea respectiva],
unul dintre eforii Epitropiei bogatei biserici a Maicii Domnului din
Dudu -- oficial numita Madona Dudu -- i-a votat un sprijin de 200 lei
anual."
"For the little spending, Brancusi being an orfan (without father) and
his mother being poor, Grecescu [district advisor at the time], highly
ranked in the administration board of the rich "Lord's Mother" church
from Dudu -- officially entitled Madonna Dudu -- voted for him a
support of 200 lei per year."
I was pleased to find out that the young Brancusi was very attached of
his mother (his father died while he was young), inviting her to come
to Craiova to spend the Christmas together:
"Din banii primului trimestru, de Craciun, Brancusi pofteste pe buna
sa mama Maria la Craiova, ca sa se bucure, si ea vazu cu ochii ei noua
stare a lui Costache (...)"
"From the first trimester's allowance, on Christmas time, Brancusi
invites his good mother Maria in Craiova, to rejoice, and she saw with
her own eyes Costache's new state (...)"
Following the references given by mister Grecescu, Brancusi started
school being marked as "gifted":
"In scoala, tanarul Brancusi, de 18 ani, fu primit cu simpatia care
incoanjoara pe cei categorisiti a fi "dotati" in sectia "tamplaria
artistica", cum spunea programa scolii."
"In school, the young Brancusi, 18 years old, was received with the
sympathy that surrounds those categorized as "gifted" in the "artistic
cabinet-making" section, as the school's catalogue names it."
He worked to live up to that name ("gifted") and because of that, at
the end of his first year, he was allowed to give a few exams in order
to pass directly in the third year of study:
"Directorul apreciind aplicatia, seriozitatea si harnicia nepregetata
a elevului, dupa consultarea colegilor profesori, a admis ca elevul
primului an sa dea un examen in toamna de absolvire a celei de-a doua
clase, promovandu-l, astfel aparandu-l de dificultatile recrutarii si
scurtand durata invatamantului cu un an (...)"
"The principal, noticing his determination, his seriosity and his
zeal, after consulting with the professors, admitted the first year's
student to be examined in the autumn of that year in order to pass the
second year of study, taking it, and thus defending him from being
conscripted and shortening the education time."
He was naturally drawn towards artistic sculpture, but the school
focused only on classical sculpture:
"Vocatia sa naturala fu consacrata a fi sculptura decorativa
"artistica" a lemnului, acante si frunze de vite cu lastarii
incovrigati din planse-modele (...) Acela "dupa natura" era neglijat,
"clasicul" singur fiind socotit ca demn de invatamantul care i se
preda. Despre natura neclasicizata se auzea vorbindu-se, dar nimeni nu
indraznea nici macar sa si-o inchipuie ca putand fi ori deveni arta
demna de a fi luata in seama."
"His natural vocation was decorative sculpture in wood, plants, grape
vine leaves with jumbled sprouts from model-plates (...) The one
"inspired by nature" was neglected, "the classic" alone being
considered worthy of the education that he was given. About the nature
"not-yet-classic" rumors could be heard, but no one dared to imagine
it at least as being or becoming an art worthy to be taken into
consideration."
Because in Craiova the art was almost non-existent at the time,
Brancusi had to visit the cemeteries to find a few sculptures that
were -- more or less -- artistic. Most of the artistic knowledge
however, came from people who were themselves artists to some degree:
Livadaru, a Romanian tapestry worker who became a very good friend of
Brancusi, and Ratz and Jurendel, two Austrians, furniture masters.
Even now, at this early stage, his main traits (regarding his art)
were present. He had two gifts: will to acquire knowledge and the
ability to eliminate anything that is useless, seeming that his mind
fed only with essences.
Surprisingly enough, his grades at sculpture were no more than 7. In
other classes he received 8 and 9 if not always 10.
"Notele lui Brancusi la sculptura nu depaseau 7! La alte obiecte -- 8
si 9 daca nu intotdeauna 10, inclinarile lui parand a se indrepta de
mai buna seama catre dulgherie, cum se fereau a-i zice
maestrii-profesori, elevul Brancusi nearatand vreo inclinare, vreo
preocupare spre continutul formelor, ci mai degraba o preocupare de
inscendenta in structura launtrica si intima a materialului lemnos."
"Brancusi's grades at sculpture did not exceed 7! In other classes --
8 and 9 if not always 10, his appetencies seeming to be directed
towards carpentry, as the teachers refrained from calling it, the
student Brancusi not showing any appetence, any preoccupation towards
the content of the forms, but rather a preoccupation for the inside,
intimate structure of the wood."
"Ratz avea cunostinta mestesugareasca artizanala superioara
indeletnicirii lui banoase din Craiova (...) "
"Ratz had a craftsmanship knowledge superior to his money-making trade
in Craiova (...)"
This guy Ratz tried very hard to convince Brancusi to visit Vienna and
he was sustained by the school's teachers:
"Entiziasmul lui Ratz era sustinut in sufletul receptiv al lui
Brancusi si de confirmarea sobra a profesorului sau, maestrul de
sculptura in lemn, tot vienez si el [ca si Ratz], caci originar din
Simmering, Iosef Zicherls (sau cu s: Sicherls), acesta mai infundat
decat entuziasmul "foc de paie" [al lui] Ratz, care pretindea ca cine
nu a vazut Viena dupa Napoli, sa tot astepte pana ce sa moara."
"Ratz's enthusiasm was sustained in Brancusi's receptiv soul by the
serious confirmation from his teacher, master in wood sculpture, also
from Viena [just like Ratz], born in Simmering, Iosef Zicherls (or
with an s: Sicherls), the teacher being less enthusiastic than Ratz."
"Celalalt maestru al lui Brancusi - Karl si nu se mai stie cum - al
sectiei de turnatorie, ii atata si el dorul de duca, dar cu o ironie
groasa si fara sare il asigura ca se va duce, da, ca se va intoarce,
da, dar... incaltat, ceea ce Brancusi i-a intors-o: "...dar nu prin
santuri", ceea ce maestrul Karl a inghitit fara voie, stiindu-se
vinovat ca seara -- intorcandu-se de la carciuma acasa -- lua drept
ulita uneori si santul..."
"The other master that Brancusi had - Karl and his other name
forgotten - from the foundry class, also made him want to leave to
Vienna, but with a rude irony assured him that yes, he will go there,
yes, he will be back, but with shoes in his feet, and Brancusi replied
: "... but not walking through gutters", which master Karl had to
accept, knowing that he was guilty -- at night, while returning from
the drinking house -- he mistook the gutter as the alley..."
The author then continues to describe how Brancusi visited Vienna, how
he was very impressed by some of the things that he saw there, but
unimpressed by other things.
Everything that I depicted above are things that happened, according
to the book, before 1896 and that would make Iosef Sicherls his
professor in his first year at Scoala de Arte si Meserii, 1894-1895.
"Lucrarea sa de sfarsit de studii -- dupa marturia celor ce i-au
supravietuit si dupa el insusi, aceasta fiind citet datata 1898 -- fu
un bust dupa antic, al lui Vitellius, imparatel de 7 luni al Romei, si
in a carui facatura de gips s-a pastrat aproape 70 de ani, ce e drept
neclintita din loc vreo jumatate de veac in remiza cu vechituri a
fostei prefecturi a judetului Dolj."
"His piece at the end of the school -- according to the testimony of
those who survived and himself, being legible dated 1898 -- was a
bust of Vitellius, a small Roman emperor, kept in a gypsum case for
almost 70 years, not moved about half a century in the storage house
of the old prefecture of the Dolj county."
"Data ei este certa - 1898, si inainte de aceasta data nici o lucrare
purtand semnatura lui, asa cum el o ortografia in anul 1898, Brancusi,
fara "i" final, nu este cunoscuta (...)"
"The date is certain - 1898, and earlier no other piece bearing his
signature, as he wrote it in 1898, Brancusi, without the final "i", is
known to exist (...)"
"Materialul plastic din care el a turnat "a creux perdu" Vitellius
este un gips comun, care bate in cenusiu, si este destul de bine
pastrat. A fost turnat de el insusi, probabil sub supravegherea
maestrului turnator Karl si nu se mai stie cum."
"The plastic material from which he molded "a creux perdu" Vitellius,
is a common gypsum, slightly gray, and it's quite well preserved. It
was molded by him, probably under the supervision of the foundry
master Karl ... and his other name is lost."
This is what I've been able to find. I hope this is what you were
searching for. If someting is not clear, please ask me to clarify the
answer before you rate it :-)
It might be a while before I get back to you because I don't have the
book at home, as it's not available for borrowing. It's available only
at the library (biblioteca) to be read at the atheneum (sala de
lectura).
Regards,
ldcdc-ga |
