Beginning of the World

Constantin Brancusi

c. 1920

Marble, nickel silver, and stone

Dallas Museum of Art

Brancusi’s work is characterized by simplified organic forms, balanced compositions, and contrasting materials, like this sculpture's polished silver paired with rough stone. By reducing forms and materials to their essential traits and placing them in careful arrangements, Brancusi sought to express universal spiritual and philosophical ideas. This work's title, The Beginning of the World, is deliberately open ended and suggests multiple meanings, from birth to spiritual associations. Brancusi’s work is characterized by simplified organic forms, balanced compositions, and contrasting materials, like this sculpture's polished silver