Famed American actress Nicole Kidman stars in a new video promoting “Danaïde,” Constantin Brancusi’ golden portrait of his muse dated from 1913.
In the video produced by prestigious auction house Christie’s, set to David Bowie’s song “Golden Years,” Kidman, herself a lover and supporter of the arts, approaches the work in Christie’s Rockefeller Center galleries, in New York.
“The turning world around her stops, and, feeling the beauty and history emanating from the golden sculpture, she is transported to a dream state, where she experiences joy, excitement, passion, curiosity and appreciation. Kidman embodies what engaging with art can feel like for anyone,” Christie’s said in the presentation.
Kidman circles the Danaïde, one of six created by Brancusi. Its artistic alchemy is at once compelling and transformative. Danaïde’s pure and essential form is considered to be the birth of modern sculpture.
The story of “Danaïde” stretches back to antiquity, from Greek mythology, to Ovid, to Auguste Rodin. Brancusi, who had previously apprenticed under sculptor Rodin, depicts a beautiful young Hungarian artist, Margit Pogany, the artist’s muse.
Brancusi’s seminal work is part of Masterpieces: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse, on view to the public from May 9 to May 18 as part of Christie’s 20th and 21st Century Art Week exhibition.
“Danaïde” comes from the collection of the late media magnate Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr., who had also purchased it from Christie’s in 2002, for USD 18.2 million. The sum set an absolute record for the artist at the time and temporarily turned the work into the most expensive sculpture ever sold at auction.
Newhouse and his wife invested a total of approximately USD 700 million in building their collection. After Newhouse’s death in 2017 at the age of 89, the management of the collection passed to art advisor Tobias Meyer, a former employee of rival house Sotheby’s. From that moment on, the heirs began selling the pieces gradually, through auctions and private transactions.
“Danaïde” is currently up for sale at Christie’s, and is expected to bring in around USD 100 million. This is the fourth time Christie’s has obtained the right to sell works from the Newhouse collection. The lot this spring includes approximately 40 works with a combined estimated value of USD 450 million, making it one of the most important private collections to appear on the market in recent years.
(Photo source: Christie’s on YouTube screen capture)
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