Nicole Kidman captivated by Brancusi

Actress Nicole Kidman visited Constantin Brâncuși’s sculpture ”Danaïde/ Danaida”, which will be auctioned on May 18 at Christie’s New York, with an estimated value of $100 million. If it fetches this price, it will become the Romanian sculptor’s most expensive work sold at auction.

The 1913 sculpture – a bronze head with a brown patina and gold leaf – is at Rockefeller Center, where Kidman viewed it earlier this month, and her experience was captured on video, directed by Stephen Tyler, with the auction house also promoting next week’s sale.

To the background of David Bowie’s “Golden Years”, the actress approaches the work on display. “The moving world around her comes to a standstill and, sensing the beauty and history emanating from the gilded sculpture, she is transported into a dreamlike state of joy, excitement, passion, curiosity and appreciation,” Christie’s explains. Kidman surrounds “Danaïde”, one of six such sculptures created by Brâncuși, mesmerized by its timeless beauty.

Brâncuși’s work is part of ‘Masterpieces: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse’, open to the public until May 18 as part of Christie’s 20th and 21st Century Art Week.

The story of Danaide has its roots in antiquity, from Greek mythology to Auguste Rodin. Constantin Brancusi (who was briefly Rodin’s apprentice) portrays her as a beautiful young Hungarian artist – Margit Pogany, who was his muse.

“The pure and essential form of ‘Danaïde’ is considered to be the birth of modern sculpture,” says Christie’s.

The current record for a work by the Romanian artist is 71.2 million dollars. It was set at Christie’s in 2018 by the bronze La jeune fille sophistiquée (1932).