Gate of the Kiss, Stone sculpture in Târgu Jiu, Romania
The gate stands on two massive pillars of travertine stone that together support a wide horizontal beam. Each pillar displays circular patterns carved into the pale stone on all four sides.
Brâncuși created the gate in the late 1930s as part of an ensemble commemorating soldiers who fell in the First World War. Work on the monument was completed in 1938 and it was installed together with other sculptures in the city park.
The circular motifs on the pillars come from Romanian wood carvings on farmyard gates and tombstones, where they have long served as a sign of connection. Visitors today can see how these folk patterns were translated into the modern form of the monument.
The gate sits on a long axis through the park that visitors can walk along to reach the other works by Brâncuși. The path is flat and easy to navigate, allowing visitors to view the sculpture from all sides.
The 2003 work was a restoration of the gate financed by the World Bank, lasting over a year; on the same occasion the authorities landscaped the park where the monument stands. The gate had been set in place in October 1937 and carved in the first part of 1938, completed on 20 September and inaugurated on 27 October 1938.
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