Tag: sculpture

René Lalique

René Lalique, Serpents Pectoral, 1899, Gold and Enamel, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal

The eccentricity and the fragility of René Lalique jewelry made it unwearable for most women of the Belle Époque, with the exception of some figures from the financial and artistic elite like the actress Sarah Bernhardt, the socialite and art patron Countess Greffulhe or the Folles Bergère vedette and dancer Liane Pougy. The British Armenian-born  financier and oil magnate, Calouste Gulbenkian, bought them however, to privately display in showcases in his mansion on Avenue d’Iéna in Paris.

These jewelry pieces dating from the early twentieth century perfectly illustrate the René Lalique’s uniqueness and sense of observation coupled with a highly fanciful imagination. Lalique is considered to be the inventor of modern jewelry, breaking away from the statuesque and soulless jewelry of the time. Bodice pieces, chokers and combs highlight the originality of materials, never or little used until then in jewelry, such as horn, ivory, translucent enamel, glass and ornamental stones. The delight in exploring the glassy depths of moonstone would later inspire Lalique’s research into glass. 

Before his turn to mass production of glass, Lalique’s unique serpents-motif objects were in the top tier of his jewelry creations. The Gulbenkian Serpents pectoral, made in 1899, is one of the great examples of René Lalique’s jewelry production, not only for the mastery of its execution, as for the theme chosen. Reptiles were a source of inspiration to which Lalique returned throughout his life not only for jewelry, but also for his glass, bronzes, and other creations.

Classified as a pectoral instead of a brooch due to its 21 cm. size, the serpents pectoral is made up of nine serpents entwined to form a knot from which the bodies of the other eight fall in a cascade, the ninth rising in the centre, at the top of the jewel. The reptiles, in the attack position, have their mouths open from which strings of pearls were hung as was apparently the case with a similar pectoral, whereabouts now unknown, which was highlighted at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900 and reproduced in a publication of the period.

This nine-serpents pectoral was acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian directly from Rene Lalique in 1908. It now resides in Lisbon’s Museu Calouste Gulbenkian with over 100 works of René Lalique collected by Gulbenkian in his lifetime.

Pierre-Charles Simart

 

Pierre-Charles Simart, “Oreste réfugié à l’autel de Pallas (Oreste Taking Refuge at the Altar of Pallas)”, 1840, Marble, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, Normandy, France

The son of a carpenter from Troyes in Champagne, Pierre-Charles Simart was born on the 27th of June in 1806. At the age of seventeen, he received a 300 francs yearly scholarship from his hometown to attend sculpture classes in Paris. In 1833, Simart won the first Grand Prix de Rome for his bas-relief in plaster “Le Vieillard et les Enfants”, its inspiration taken from the Aesop tale “The Disunited Children of the Laborer”.

Pierre-Charles Simart studied at the French Academy in Rome from 1834 to 1839. He was the pupil of engraver and medalist Antoine Desboeufs and sculptor Charles Dupaty, a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts. Simart also received instruction from the neo-classical sculptors Jean-Pierre Cortot and James Pradier, both teaching at the Académie des Beaux-Arts.

Simart’s first notable work was the “Disc Thrower’, of which models in plaster are located at the Louvre and at the Museum of Troyes. His marble sculpture “Orestes Taking Refuge at the Altar of Pallas” was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1840. Between 1840 and 1843, Simart executed many works including two bas-reliefs for the Hotel de Ville at Paris, two large figures entitled “Justice” and “Abundance” for the columns of the Barrière du Tróne, the marble statue “Philosophy” in the Library of Luxembourg, and the bust of M. Jourdan now at the Museum of Troyes.

After his 1841 marriage, Pierre-Charles Simart sculpted his marble standing group “Virgin and Child” for the altar of the Virgin in the Cathedral of Troyes, and for several years, worked on the decoration of the tomb of Napolean I and the ceiling of the Carré at the Louvre. A pair of Caryatid sculptures, executed by Pierre Simart, were later installed on the upper level of the Pavilion Sully at the former Palais de Louvre during a major renovation and decoration project in 1857.

Simart was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux Arts in 1852 and an Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1856. In 1857, he composed the group sculpture “Art Demanding Inspiration from Poesy”, producing a model which was executed in marble after his death in Paris on May 27th of 1857.

Henry Moore

Henry Moore OM CH, “Two Piece Sculpture No. 7 Pipe”, 1966, Casting Date Unknown, Bronze, 432 x 839 x315 cm., Tate Museum, London

“The Two Piece Sculpture no. 7 Pipe” is one of a series of two-piece sculptures made during the 1960s that relate to Moore’s interest in bone forms. The projecting beam that bridges the two parts has been interpreted by critics as a phallic appendage, which has led the sculpture to be seen as a highly abstract representation of sexual coupling.

This sculpture was developed from a small maquette made in plaster in 1966. By this time Moore had established a practice of testing out his designs for sculptures by making small three-dimensional models as opposed to drawing his ideas on a page. It is probable that Moore made the small model for this sculpture in his maquette studio in the grounds of his home, Hoglands, at Perry Green in Hertfordshire. This studio housed his ever growing collection of found objects, the shapes of which often served as starting points for Moore’s formal experiments in three dimensions.

In “Two Piece Sculpture No. 7 Pipe”, Moore combined his interest in the human figure with his concurrent explorations of interlocking forms. After separated the body into two distinct parts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Moore then began thinking about ways in which separate sculptural parts could intersect or interlock to create a single unit while maintaining their individuality. These ideas came to fruition in works such as “Locking Piece”, 1963-64, in which two differently shaped elements intersect. According to Bowness, it was the relationship between the two parts of “Two Piece Sculpture No. 7 Pipe” that was of interest to Moore, and the subsequent omission of the often-used term ‘Reclining Figure’ from its title reflected these concerns.

Emperor Caracalla

Bust of Emperor Caracalla

Artist Unknown, Bust of Emperor Caracalla, White Marble Head, Alabaster Torso

Formerly known as Antoninus, Caracalla was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Julia Domna and Septinius Severus. He ruled as the Roman Emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first as a co-ruler with his father Septnius from 198, then as a co-ruler with his brother Geta from 209 AD. After his father’s death in 211, Caracalla killed his brother and assumed the position of Emperor for himself.

Although Caracalla’s reign was troubled with domestic instability and invasions by the Germanic tribes, it was notable for the Antonine Constitution which granted Roman citizenship to all free men throughout the Roman Empire. Caracalla is known for the construction of the second-largest baths in Rome, the Baths of Caracalla, and for the the new Roman currency named the antoninianus.

Ancient sources portray Caracalla as a tyrant and a cruel leader, enacting massacres in his empire and against his own Roman people. He was assassinated by a disaffected soldier in 217 AD. Macrinus, a praetorian prefect of Rome and a conspirator in the assassination against Caracalla, became Emperor on April 11, 217, three days after Caracalla’s death.

Image reblogged with thanks to http://hadrian6.tumblr.com

 

Fabio Viale

Sculptures by Fabio Viale

Fabio Viale, born in Cuneo in northern Italy in 1975, is a sculptor who lives and works in Turin, Italy. He graduated in 2008 from the University of Turin in the field of contemporary sculpture. Viale’s artwork contrasts the artistic appearance of traditional white marble art pieces with contemporary illustrative tattoo work, inspired by the Japanese Yakuza, over the marble forms.

Fabio Viale has been exhibiting world-wide since 2009, showing in New York, Basel, Miami and London among other cities. In 2007 he won the Francesco Messina Young International Sculpture Award for his work in traditional materials. His works also won first prize in 2012 at the Henraux Foundation Awards in Querceta, Italy, and recognition at the Premio Cairo in Milan, Italy.

First three images reblogged with thanks to Jean Louis’s great art site: https://ganymedesrocks.tumblr.com

Remaining images reblogged with thanks to: https://www.tobeeko.com

 

Calendar: December 21

A Year: Day to Day Men: 21st of December

The Position Taken

Born in Bologna the twenty-first of December in 1788, Adamo Tadolini was an Italian sculptor. He was a member of a family of sculptors descended from his grandfather Petronio Tadolini, a classical sculptor of works in both marble and terracotta, as well as medals in bronze. This family dynasty of sculptors continued until his great-grandson Enrico Tadolini’s death in 1967. 

Adamo Tadolini attended Balogna’s Accademia di Belle Arti from 1808 until 1813 where he studied under the directorship of sculptor Giacomo De Maria. In 1813, he was awarded a gold medal, the Curlandese Prize from the Accademia, for his terra cotta relief depicting Venus and the Trojan hero Aeneas carrying weapons.  Tadolini was also awarded a four year scholarship to study in Rome. One of the works he created during this scholarship period was a plaster statue of the hero Ajax cursing the gods. 

Tadolini’s skill at sculpture caught the attention of Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova, who at that time was the most celebrated artist in Europe with patrons from the wealthy as well as royal lineages. Canova was given by the Pope the title Minister Plenipotentiary in 1815 and, in the next year, the title of Marquis of Ischia, along with an annual pension of three thousand crowns. Tadolini was invited by Canova to enter into his studio and worked there until 1822. At that time he set up, with assistance from Canova,  his own studio at Via Del Babuino 150 in Rome. This studio is now the Canova-Tadolini Museum and houses the Tadolini family’s vast range of work. 

Among Adamo Tadolini’s many works are the 1823 marble statue “Ganymede and the Eagle” at Chatsworth House, the seat of the Duke of Devonshire; the 1838 marble “Saint Paul” at St. Peter’s Square in the  Vatican; King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia’s commission of “St. Frances de Sales” for St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican; the 1857 statue of King David which is part of the Column of the Immaculate Conception in Rome’s Piazza Mignanelli; the1858 bust of Cardinal Alessandro Lante Montefeltro della Rovere in the Bologna Cathedral: and the1859 bronze equestrian statue of Simón Bolívar, the original casting of three resides at Lima’s Plaza Bolívar.

Tadolini had two sons, Scipione and Tito, both of whom studied under their father at his studio workshop. Scipione Tadolini worked in a romantic form of the Neo-classical tradition whose works included “Saint Michael Overcoming Satan” now in Boston College. Upon the death of his father on the sixteenth of February in 1863, Scipione took ownership of the studio. 

Dragon Fish Shachihoko

Artist Unknown, Dragon Fish Shachihoko, Edo Period, Bronze, 160 x 86 x 43 cm, Private Collection

This bronze Shachihoko, or roof decoration, is in the form of a dragon fish with bushy eyebrows and whiskers, flared nostrils, a spiny dorsal fin, and four large pectoral fins. His body, covered with the scales of a carp, has a large flared tail fin. With only remnants of the gilding existing, the dragon fish has weathered into a green patina. 

Originally completely gilded, this Shachihoko would have adorned the gable end of either a temple roof or a samurai dwelling. Attributed with the power to control rain, this creature was thought to provide protection from fire. 

Source: brandtasianart.com

Lucy Glendinning

Lucy Glendinning, “Feather Child 4″, Date Unknown, Feathers on Form

Lucy Glendinning is a sculptor and installation artist, who works in a contemporary British sculpture tradition. Her different aesthetic expressions are brought together under one central entry point: the human body as a semiotic medium. For Glendinning, art is the primary tool for investigating psychological and philosophical themes. Her work is thus permeated by a conceptual content, superior to the value of aesthetics.

Glendinning seduces the observing eye by emphasing subtle expressions and presenting stunning craftsmanship. Her way of cleverly combining paradoxical qualities are revealed in the twisted combinations of tenderness and brutality, empathety and ignorance, stillness and movement.

The suite “Feather Child” series originates from Glendinning’s fascination with visions of a future society. The feathered children are embodied questions, where the artist is asking us if we, in a world where our genetics could be freely manipulated, will be able to resist altering our physical abilities. Will necessity or vanity be the ruling power? The fragility of the feathers is simultaneously mirroring the perhaps most classic tale of human hubris: the fate of Icarus in Greek mythology.

Antonio Canova

Antonio Canova, “Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss”, Detail, 1787, Marble, Louvre Museum, Paris

“Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss” is a marble sculpture by Italian artist Antonio Canova, who was raised by his stonemason grandfather, Pasino Canova. Antonio Canova valued his independence as an artist, believing that art was above politics. However, through pressure by the French on the papacy, he was forced to accept titles and honors.

The marble sculpture is in a Neoclassical style but shows characteristics of the then emerging Romantic movement. There were two versions of this piece; the image shown being the prime version, which was acquired by Joachim Murat, Marshal of France and Admiral of France under the reign of Napoleon. After Murat’s death, the sculpture entered the Louvre Museum in 1824.

Image reblogged with thanks to http://abrighterhellas.tumblr.com

Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei, “He Xie (River Crab)”, 2010, Porcelain

The installation “He Xie” consists of 3,200 porcelain crab sculptures. They were created after Chinese authorities ransacked and destroyed Weiwei’s studio in 2010. Following that event, a feast of real river crabs was hosted by Weiwei, who was unable to attend, due to his house arrest. The term “He Xie” is a homophone for “harmonious” in Chinese and has also become a term for internet censorship.

Calendar: November 5

 

A Year: Day to Day Men: 5th of November

The Spiral Staircase

November 5, 1876 was the birthdate of sculptor Raymond Duchamp-Villon.

Raymond Duchamp-Villon was born on November 5, 1876, in Damville, near Rouen, France. From 1894 to 1898 he studied medicine at the University of Paris. When illness forced him to abandon his studies, Duchamp-Villon decided to make a career in sculpture. During the early years of the century he moved to Paris, where he exhibited for the first time at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1902.

Duchamp-Villon’s second show was held at the same Salon in 1903, the year he settled in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb west of Paris. In 1905 he had his first exhibition at the Salon d’Automne and a show at the Galerie Legrip in Rouen with his brother, the painter Jacques Villon; Duchamp-Villon moved with him to Puteaux two years later.

Duchamp Villon’s participation in the jury of the sculpture section of the Salon d’Automne began in 1907 and was instrumental in promoting the Cubists in the early 1910s. Around this time he  and Jacques Villon, along with their other brother, Marcel Duchamp, attended weekly meetings of the Puteaux group of artists and critics. The Puteaux Group, also known as the Golden Section, was a collective of painters, sculptors, poets and critics associated with Cubism and Orphism, an offshoot of Cubism that focused on pure color and abstraction.

In 1911 Raymond Duchamp-Villon exhibited at the Galerie de l’Art Contemporain in Paris; the following year his work was included in a show organized by the Duchamp brothers at the Salon de la Section d’Or at the Galerie de la Boétie. Duchamp-Villon’s work, along with the work of his two brothers, was exhibited at the Armory Show in New York in 1913 and the Galerie André Groult in Paris, the Galerie S. V. U. Mánes in Prague, and Der Sturm gallery in Berlin in 1914.

During World War One, Duchamp-Villon served in the army in a medical capacity, but was able to continue work on his major sculpture “The Horse”, a composite image of an animal and machine which he finished in 1914. Duchamp-Villon overturned conventional representation of form to suggest instead its inner forces, which he associated with the energy of the machine.

Raymond Duchamp-Villon contracted typhoid fever in late 1916 while stationed at Champagne; the disease ultimately resulted in his death on October 9, 1918, in the military hospital at Cannes.