Princess X
sculpture by Constantin Brâncuși
Princess X is a sculpture by the artist Constantin Brâncuși depicting the Princess Marie Bonaparte, a Freudian psychoanalyst and aristocrat. An initial version in marble is now in the Sheldon Museum of Art at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, whilst two versions as a polished bronze atop a limestone block stands 61.7 cm (2 ft 1⁄4 in) tall (both created between 1915 and 1916) are now in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Musée national d'Art moderne in Paris.
The work was originally part of a "notorious scandal" when the Salon des Indépendants removed Princess X from display for its apparent obscene content, after some objected to the sculpture's phallic resemblance. Brâncuși was reportedly shocked and declared the incident a misunderstanding; he had created Princess X to evoke feminine desire and vanity.
Scandal in Paris
Brâncuși insisted the sculpture had been his rendition of Marie Bonaparte and discussed the comparison of the bronze figure to the princess. He described his detestation of Marie, as a "vain woman." He claimed she went as far as placing a hand mirror on the table at mealtimes, so she could gaze upon herself. The sculpture's C-like form reveals a woman looking over and gazing down, as if looking into an object. The large anchors of the sculpture resemble the "beautiful bust" which she possessed. Without knowing the context, to a viewer Princess X could look like an erect penis. Brâncuși allows the princess to gaze upon herself in an eternal loop locked in the bronze sculpture.
“Princess X” enters the record as sculpture by Constantin Brâncuși. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Princess, sculpture and Constantin can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Princess X” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Princess, sculpture and Constantin provides the most credible route into that argument.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7244866. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1915 and 1916.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Princess X” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.