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| Romania calls on citizens to help buy Brâncuși sculpture Romania calls on citizens to help buy Brâncuși sculpture | |
| (4 months later) | |
| Romanians are being asked to pitch in to help their government buy a work by the country’s greatest artist, Constantin Brâncuși. | Romanians are being asked to pitch in to help their government buy a work by the country’s greatest artist, Constantin Brâncuși. |
| After an 18-month walk from his tiny Romanian village, the 27-year old sculptor arrived in Paris in 1904 and eventually worked under French star Auguste Rodin. | After an 18-month walk from his tiny Romanian village, the 27-year old sculptor arrived in Paris in 1904 and eventually worked under French star Auguste Rodin. |
| In 1907, he left Rodin’s studio saying “Nothing grows under big trees” and created The Wisdom of the Earth – a sitting female nude – later selling it to the Romanian engineer Gheorghe Romașcu. | In 1907, he left Rodin’s studio saying “Nothing grows under big trees” and created The Wisdom of the Earth – a sitting female nude – later selling it to the Romanian engineer Gheorghe Romașcu. |
| The communist regime seized it in 1957 but Romașcu’s heirs retrieved in 2012 after a protracted legal battle. | The communist regime seized it in 1957 but Romașcu’s heirs retrieved in 2012 after a protracted legal battle. |
| Now, Bucharest has launched a campaign to raise €6m to buy the piece, titled Cumințenia pământului in Romanian. | Now, Bucharest has launched a campaign to raise €6m to buy the piece, titled Cumințenia pământului in Romanian. |
| “I am calling on Romanians to take individual responsibility because I want Brâncuși to unite us, not divide us,” the prime minister, Dacian Cioloș, said on Thursday. | “I am calling on Romanians to take individual responsibility because I want Brâncuși to unite us, not divide us,” the prime minister, Dacian Cioloș, said on Thursday. |
| The fundraising drive carries the slogan “Brâncuși is mine”. Donations come with tax exemptions. | The fundraising drive carries the slogan “Brâncuși is mine”. Donations come with tax exemptions. |
| The government will provide €5m (£3.8m) of the €11m () price tag, hoping to raise the rest from Romanians by the end of September. | The government will provide €5m (£3.8m) of the €11m () price tag, hoping to raise the rest from Romanians by the end of September. |
| “This sculpture – representative for his entire work – is the last one that the Romanian state can recover and make accessible to the wider public and art lovers,” a government spokesperson said. | “This sculpture – representative for his entire work – is the last one that the Romanian state can recover and make accessible to the wider public and art lovers,” a government spokesperson said. |
| Brâncuși was born in Hobița, near the Carpathian Mountains, but lived in Paris for most of his life. | Brâncuși was born in Hobița, near the Carpathian Mountains, but lived in Paris for most of his life. |
| He bequeathed his studio and some of his art to the French state after his death in 1957. He had wanted to leave his art to Romania, but the then communist government declined the offer. | He bequeathed his studio and some of his art to the French state after his death in 1957. He had wanted to leave his art to Romania, but the then communist government declined the offer. |
| Little of Brâncuși’s art is in Romania, with the notable exception of an open-air ensemble that includes the Endless Column in the city of Târgu Jiu, a 1937 tribute to soldiers killed during the second world war. | Little of Brâncuși’s art is in Romania, with the notable exception of an open-air ensemble that includes the Endless Column in the city of Târgu Jiu, a 1937 tribute to soldiers killed during the second world war. |
| In 2009 one of his sculptures sold for a record €29m. | In 2009 one of his sculptures sold for a record €29m. |