GUIDING QUESTIONS for Brancusi's "THE KISS"

• Where was Brancusi from?

• Where does Brancusi move to?

• What does Brancusi bring with him (artistically) to his new city?

• What “folk arts” or “peasant traditions” were common in Brancusi’s native country (that he brings with him to Paris)?

• In “The Kiss”, what visual indicators does Brancusi give us that identify the figure on the right as a woman?

• How does Brancusi honor the “material nature” of the block?

• Consider: HOW does Brancusi’s “The Kiss” BREAK WITH TRADITION (DEVIATE FROM TRADITION) previously established in figurative sculpture (by artists like Michelangelo, Bernini, Houdon, Rodin…)?