Danaïde, a sculpture by Constantin Brâncuși that once belonged to media magnate S. I. Newhouse, long regarded as one of the world’s leading art collectors, sold at Christie’s on Monday evening for $93 million, setting a new auction record for Brâncuși’s modernist sculpture; with fees, the total came to $107,585,000.
The Mythological Origins of the Danaïde
The title Danaïde reaches back to Greek myth. Christie’s notes that the story of the Danaids tells of the fifty daughters of King Danaos, whom his brother Aegyptos demanded as brides for his sons. Obeying their father’s command, the Danaids — all but one — kill their husbands on their wedding night. As punishment, they are banished to Hades and condemned to the futile labor of filling jars from which the water endlessly escapes. In the fourth book of Metamorphoses, Ovid places the Danaids among the “shadows of darkness” and describes how they “constantly fetch water once again, which they will lose” (IV, 463).
Margit Pogány: The Muse Behind the Masterpiece
Conceived and cast around 1913, Danaïde was inspired by a young Hungarian art student, Margit Pogány, whom Brancusi met in Paris in 1910. He distilled her features into a sequence of simplified forms that convey purity and timelessness. For Brancusi, the goal of sculpture was to strip away surface detail and reveal a more essential harmony and beauty. As he put it, “Simplicity is complexity resolved.”
Provenance and Technical Specifications
Bearing the inscription and foundry stamp ‘BRANCUSI C. VALSUANI CIRE PERDUE’ on the side of the neck, the bronze—enhanced with gold leaf and a black patina—measures 10 7⁄8 in. (27.1 cm.) in height, not including the base.
Danaïde Goes Viral: Nicole Kidman’s Christie’s Moment
A few days ago, a viral video captured Nicole Kidman in the galleries with Danaïde. Set to “Golden Years,” it follows her as she drifts through Christie’s Rockefeller Center spaces; the bustle around her seems to freeze, and she slips into a hazy, dreamlike state. You can watch the clip below.
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