French Ministry of Culture

Paris, 08 Sept. 2017

Our ref.: PART/2017/A/22403/LTO

Madam,

You were kind enough to send me your doctoral dissertation in visual arts, Brancusi Seen by His Contemporaries and Interpreted by Posterity.

I warmly thank you for this submission, which I have read with great attention.

Yours sincerely,

With kind regards,

Françoise Nyssen

Roland Recht

Thursday, 14 June 2018

Dear Madam,

My heartfelt thanks for sending me your remarkable work on Brancusi. Until now I have only been able to skim through it, but enough to grasp the wealth of information and analyses you provide. I shall read it very carefully this summer.

Your knowledge of Brancusi’s work is situated within a perspective quite different from that of historians who rely mainly, or even exclusively, on their familiarity with the studio. You root this great artist in a context that allows for a deeper understanding of his creative thought.

Thank you once again for your sending. I too hope to have the opportunity to meet you one day.

Yours very sincerely,

Roland Recht

Roland Recht is a French art historian, academic, and museum curator, a recognized specialist in medieval art and the historiography of art. A professor at the Collège de France and a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, he has made a significant contribution to scholarship through his work on sculpture, architecture, and the historical thought of art.

In the field of modern art, his perspective on the work of Constantin Brancusi forms part of a broader reflection on sculpture, modernity, and the reception of forms, offering a critical and methodological reading that sheds light on the conceptual and historical scope of Brancusi’s oeuvre.

Sidney Geist (1914 – 2005)

2 May 1997

Dear Doina Frumuselu,

Thank you for your kind letter of April 11. I am especially grateful for the fullness of its information on the state of The Endless Column, on ICEMENERG, and on its plans for the restoration of the Column. I must say that your letter is the first word I have had of the existence of ICEMENERG. I am deeply impressed by the thoroughness of its analysis of the present state of affairs. Even to a layman like me, ICEMENERG appears to have not only an understanding of the complexity of the problems afflicting the Column, but also the ability to deal with them successfully.

Important, too, is the fact that ICEMENERG is in Rumania: its presence there obviates the need to embark on the delicate, costly and time-consuming task of assembling a team of foreign or international experts.

It is, of course, shameful that your group was not consulted from the beginning, that is, before the assault on the Column by man, or, rather, one among us. Mr. Varia's assumption of the cause of Brancusi is, in this case, compromised by his self-interest, his incompetence with respect to the engineering and chemical aspects of the Column's restoration, and his flouting of the ethical aspects of the situation. Since he acquired his authority by political means, it strikes me that it will require similar means to replace him--something that seems possible given the recent governmental change.

If ICEMENERG is charged with the task of the Column's restoration--and it seems to me that it should be so charged--I would hope that it could accommodate foreign observers, or let its progress be known to concerned amateurs of Brancusi outside of Rumania. An occasional Progress Report?

I am glad to see that your own attention to the complicated problem ahead is fired by your appreciation of the artistic as well as the national importance of the Column and indeed of the Monumental Ensemble of Tîrgu Jiu. I am pleased, too, to note your respect for the technique of Ştefan Georgescu-Gorjan, whose engineering skill went hand-in-hand with Brancusi's vision in the realization of The Endless Column.

With my best wishes for your efforts,

Sincerely,

Sidney Geist

Sidney Geist was an American art historian and critic, recognized as one of the foremost specialists on the work of Constantin Brancusi. The author of several seminal books on modern sculpture, he profoundly reshaped the understanding of Brancusi’s aesthetics and artistic thought. His rigorous work, grounded in formal, historical, and conceptual analysis, has made him a major and indispensable figure in Brancusi studies.

Barbu Brezianu (1909–2008)

I had the privilege of becoming acquainted with the chemical engineer Doina Frumușelu on the occasion of the dismantling, in 1996, of Brancusi’s Endless Column in Târgu Jiu, whose central pillar had been protected for two years in an inadequate manner, thereby accelerating the process of corrosion.

During several subsequent discussions specifically devoted to effective methods for combating the corrosion of the components of the ensemble as a whole, I was able to appreciate the seriousness of her research, her exceptional level of expertise, as well as her inventive and independent spirit.

In view of the intellectual and professional qualities of Ms. Doina Frumușelu, I consider the awarding of a study grant abroad to be highly recommended.

Bucharest, 15 July 1998

Barbu Brezianu
Art historian and critic
Member of the AICA

Barbu Brezianu (1909–2008) was a Romanian poet, art critic, art historian, and magistrate, recognized as one of the foremost experts on the work of Constantin Brancusi. The author of landmark studies and publications, he devoted a substantial part of his career to the analysis, documentation, and promotion of Brancusi’s legacy. Through the rigor of his research and the depth of his critical insight, Barbu Brezianu remains a major and foundational figure in Brancusi studies, both in Romania and internationally.

Letter of Recommendation

Barbu Brezianu (1909–2008)

I know Ms. Doina Frumușelu through her professional activity as a senior research leader in her field, devoted to the prevention and control of corrosion, with a particular focus on the analyses required for the restoration of Constantin Brâncuși’s sculptural ensemble in Târgu Jiu.

I greatly value in her the conscientious nature of her work, her methodological rigor, and her scrupulous investigative approach aimed at reaching sound, solid, and effective conclusions, especially in a context where she must confront assessments often open to doubt and controversy, or even subject to circumstantial interference. I have observed that she remains independent of such influences, guided solely by the pursuit of truth and by her spirit of intellectual independence.

For these reasons, I give her my strongest recommendation.

Dr. Radu Bogdan
Art Historian and Critic, Member of the AICA
Former Senior Lecturer
Former Head of the Modern and Contemporary Art Department
Institute of Art History, Bucharest

Bucharest, 10 July 1998

Dr. Radu Bogdan is a Romanian art historian and critic, specializing in modern and contemporary art. A member of the AICA (International Association of Art Critics), he served as a senior lecturer and held the position of Head of the Modern and Contemporary Art Department at the Institute of Art History in Bucharest. His scholarly and critical work, recognized for its rigor and intellectual independence, has made a significant contribution to the study and promotion of modern art, particularly in the field of research devoted to Constantin Brancusi.

Letter of Recommendation

Related articles