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拍品专文
A unique sculpture dating from 1966, Maquette for Large Sculpture: Three Forms (Two Circles) perfectly encapsulates the grace, elegance and obsession with form that characterises Barbara Hepworth's works; it comes as no surprise that this work was both exhibited and published during the artist's lifetime. This sculpture, as the title indicates, appears to have been conceived as a model for a larger work; however, the preference of Piet and Ida Sanders for sculptures created on a more manageable scale which they could incorporate into their home is here in evidence in their acquisition of this work from Gimpel Fils the same year that they had shown it in an exhibition dedicated to Hepworth's work. This sculpture, then, has an intimate monumentality.
In this sense, Maquette for Large Sculpture: Three Forms (Two Circles) recalls several of Hepworth's sculptures of the period, some of which comprised similar elements to those featured here. Some of these were monoliths and also echoed the rigid, rigorous compositions which often featured in her paintings from this time, while others featured more sinuous edges. In this, she was often following the suggestion of the materials with which she worked, still working as a pure sculptor and revealing her keen interest in direct carving, even during a time when she was, due to the demand for monumental works, also exploring the potential of bronze. In the clean lines and crisp geometry of Maquette for Large Sculpture: Three Forms (Two Circles), she is revealing her continued fascination with and celebration of the beautiful, luminous stone itself, not least by allowing various plays of light through the material and the circles.
Maquette for Large Sculpture: Three Forms (Two Circles) combines several key elements from Hepworth's output, including the restrained and refined geometry that had informed many of her works during the previous two decades in particular and also the interest in figures in space that was such a continuing source of inspiration to Hepworth throughout her career. This was an increasing focus for Hepworth following her observation of the crowds at the 1950 Venice Biennale - she became intrigued by seeing the people against the backdrop of architectural splendour in La Serenissima and began to explore the place of people in their environment more and more. In Maquette for Large Sculpture: Three Forms (Two Circles), the various elements themselves stand as substitutes for human figures, demonstrating Hepworth's ability to combine figurative and abstract visual languages alike in such a way that they also evoke the natural. At the same time, the forms clearly interact and are placed in relation to one another, indicating a form of understated narrative.
In this sense, Maquette for Large Sculpture: Three Forms (Two Circles) recalls several of Hepworth's sculptures of the period, some of which comprised similar elements to those featured here. Some of these were monoliths and also echoed the rigid, rigorous compositions which often featured in her paintings from this time, while others featured more sinuous edges. In this, she was often following the suggestion of the materials with which she worked, still working as a pure sculptor and revealing her keen interest in direct carving, even during a time when she was, due to the demand for monumental works, also exploring the potential of bronze. In the clean lines and crisp geometry of Maquette for Large Sculpture: Three Forms (Two Circles), she is revealing her continued fascination with and celebration of the beautiful, luminous stone itself, not least by allowing various plays of light through the material and the circles.
Maquette for Large Sculpture: Three Forms (Two Circles) combines several key elements from Hepworth's output, including the restrained and refined geometry that had informed many of her works during the previous two decades in particular and also the interest in figures in space that was such a continuing source of inspiration to Hepworth throughout her career. This was an increasing focus for Hepworth following her observation of the crowds at the 1950 Venice Biennale - she became intrigued by seeing the people against the backdrop of architectural splendour in La Serenissima and began to explore the place of people in their environment more and more. In Maquette for Large Sculpture: Three Forms (Two Circles), the various elements themselves stand as substitutes for human figures, demonstrating Hepworth's ability to combine figurative and abstract visual languages alike in such a way that they also evoke the natural. At the same time, the forms clearly interact and are placed in relation to one another, indicating a form of understated narrative.