Brancusi's Romanian outdoor sculptures added to UNESCO World Heritage list

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - UNESCO added a series of outdoor sculptures by Romanian modernist master Constantin Brancusi to its list of world heritage sites on Saturday, celebrating their place as one of the most notable examples of 20th-century public art.

Brancusi created the open-air collection that includes the "Endless Column" and the "Gate of the Kiss" in the small south-western Romanian town of Targu Jiu in 1937-1938 as a tribute to fallen World War I soldiers.

The five sculptural installations aligned on a 1.5-km-long axis along Targu Jiu's central Avenue of Heroes are one of the few Brancusi works located in Romania.

"The granted recognition forces us to protect the monumental ensemble, to keep it intact for future generations and for humanity's cultural memory," Romanian Culture Minister Raluca Turcan said.

Brancusi was born in the small village of Hobita near the Carpathian Mountains, but lived in Paris for most of his life.

He arrived in Paris in 1904 after an 18-month walk and eventually worked under Auguste Rodin. He left Rodin's studio in 1907 saying "nothing grows under big trees" and became one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

He bequeathed his studio and some of his art to the French state after his death in 1957. He had wanted to leave his art to Romania, but the then communist government declined the offer.

In 2023, the western Romanian city of Timisoara staged the first retrospective exhibit of Brancusi works to be held in his home country in more than 50 years. A separate comprehensive Brancusi exhibit ended this month at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; editing by David Evans)