When the sculptor Constantin Brancusi died in 1957, he left the entire contents of his Paris studio to the French state, on the condition that it be preserved as he had arranged it. The Atelier Brancusi, beside the Centre Pompidou, is the reconstruction that fulfils that bequest. Brancusi, born in Romania in 1876, settled in Paris and became one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century, known for pared-down, abstract forms in marble, bronze and wood. He regarded the arrangement of his works within the studio as part of the art itself. The original workshops stood elsewhere in the city, in the Impasse Ronsin, and were demolished. To honour his wishes the studio was recreated, and the version visitors see today was built to a design by the architect Renzo Piano, opening in 1997 on the piazza outside the Pompidou. Inside, the sculptures, bases, tools and furniture are set out as the artist kept them, with finished pieces shown alongside plaster casts and works in progress. The careful grouping reflects Brancusi's belief that a sculpture related to those around it. The building is arranged around a central glazed core, with the reconstructed studio spaces viewed from a surrounding walkway, allowing the interiors to be seen much as the artist would have known them while protecting the fragile contents. Admission is free, and the atelier is run as part of the Pompidou's wider collection, offering a quiet contrast to the busy modern art galleries across the square. Because so much of his work was dispersed to museums around the world, the studio is one of the few places where a large concentration of his sculpture can be seen together, in the setting he intended. It stands as both a museum of a single artist and a preserved record of how he lived and worked, a rare survival in a city where artists' studios have mostly vanished.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Place Georges Pompidou, Paris, France

Opening Date: 01/01/1997