Oltenia

This week together with Adi, I was visiting another region of Romania, named Oltenia. Nice, we passed through small towns (Horezu, the capital of Romanian pottery, or Motru, known for its coal mines), charming villages (Hobita, the birthplace of Constantin Brancusi, the father of modern sculpture, see in picture#1 the house where he grew up), peaceful monasteries (Tismana) or wild landscapes like Dealul Negru.

Then we went to Targu Jiu and visited the ensemble of Brancusi's

sculptures - The Endless Column, Table of Silence, Alley of Stools and The Gate of Kiss -

a memorial for fallen heroes in World War I .

I'v seen many of his sculptures in museums from New York and Philadelphia like Bird in Space, The Prayer or Mademoiselle Pogany (the one thet I like the best) , but these in open air are very impressive and actually are considered the apex of his artistic career. He died in 1957 (the year that Adi was born), at 81 years old, leaving over 200 sculptures. His work is appreciated word wide and sold at record prices - for example Madame L.R. was sold at an auction for $37mil.

Corina, do you recognize who is near The Endless Column?

The Gate of Kiss....

Only in front of Michelangelo's David I've stayed so long as I've stayed on a stool at The Table of Silence!