Henry Moore, O.M., C.H.

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Description

Henry Moore OM, CH
TWO FORMS
Roman travertine marble on wooden base
length: 87.5cm.
34 1/2 in.

Provenance

Fischer Fine Art, London
Acquired from the above by the family of the present owner

Exhibited

Madrid, Palacio de Velázquez, Palacio de Cristal and Parque de El Retiro, Henry Moore: Sculptures, Drawings, Graphics 1921-1981, 1981, no. 560, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Henry Moore: 60 Years of his Art, 1983, illustrated in the catalogue

Literature

Alan Bowness (ed.), Henry Moore, Sculpture 1974-80, London, 1983, vol. 5, p. 24, no. 670, illustrated; pls. 50 & 51, illustrated

Catalogue Note

During the 1970s, Moore produced many stone carvings, often with the assistance of the Carrara stonemasons with whom he worked during his summer visits to Italy. Although he employed exotic or colourful looking materials on several occasions, he generally preferred the neutral-coloured travertine stone, used in Two Forms, and black and white marble. Moore started using travertine stone earlier in his career, most famously in the monumental Reclining Figure of 1957-58 (figs. 1 & 2) for the UNESCO building in Paris (see Alan Bowness (ed.), Henry Moore, Complete Sculpture 1955-64, London, 1965, vol. 3, 416). As Susan Compton explained: "The advantage to Moore of using travertine was no doubt the open texture of this hard material (which is not really a marble at all, but a crystalline stone whose geological character is formed by deposits of calcium carbonate accruing near hot springs)" (S. Compton, Henry Moore (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1988, p. 174).

Writing about Moore’s stone carvings, David Finn commented: "For many years Moore has spent the summer in a cottage in Forte dei Marmi, Italy. Taking advantage of his proximity to marble quarries, he has devoted himself to stone carvings. Many of these are abstract forms in which the sculptor expresses his love of the material and at the same time explores new variations on the themes with which he is currently preoccupied" (D. Finn, Henry Moore: Sculpture and Environment, London, 1977, p. 346). In the elegantly carved Two Forms, the two shapes, positioned at slight distance from each other, complement each other’s concave and convex forms. The play of light and shadow on the protruding and hollow shapes accentuates the dynamic of the two forms, while the visible grain of the stone adds character to their smooth, beautifully carved surface.

Fig. 1, Henry Moore, Reclining Figure, 1957-58, Roman travertine marble, UNESCO, Paris

Fig. 2, Henry Moore at work on the UNESCO Reclining Figure at the marble quarry in Italy, 1958