- 25
KAREL APPEL | Torso
Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 EUR
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Description
- Torso
- acrylic on olive tree stump
- 140 x 74 x 45 cm; 55 1/8 x 29 1/8 x 17 11/16 in. (sculpture)
- 150 x 97,8 x 57,8 cm; 59 x 38 1/2 x 22 3/4 in. (with the base)
- Executed in 1960.
Provenance
Collection Z, Brussels (acquired directly from the artist)
Exhibited
Venice, Il Centro Internazionale della Arti e del Costume, Palazzo Grassi, Visione Colore, 6 July - 6 October 1963
Literature
Donald Kuspit, Karel Appel Sculpture, A Catalogue Raisonné, New York, 1994, p. 156, illustrated
Condition
The colours in the printed catalogue illustration are fairly accurate. The work is dirty. Under close inspection, few cracks are visible most notably to the head and at the base of the sculpture, which are in keeping with the artist's choice of medium. Further close inspection reveals paint losses in places especially to the head of the sculpture where a small piece of wood seems to have broken off. Scratches to the base are visible in places under close inspection.This work is in good original condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
FR: Le deuxième art occupe une place à part dans l'œuvre de Karel Appel. Tenant parfois de l'assemblage, parfois du modelage, parfois même du ready-made, la sculpture est en effet pour l'artiste hollandais le moyen idéal d'explorer le champ des possibles hors des carcans que lui impose la toile et son implacable bidimensionnalité.
Au tout début des années soixante, Appel passe deux étés consécutifs dans le havre niçois de Jean Larcade, éminent promoteur de l'art informel et directeur de la fameuse galerie Rive Droite à Paris. C'est là qu'il réalise l'une de ses plus importantes séries de sculptures, déterrant des souches d'oliviers dont il travaille les volutes naturelles pour en faire surgir des figures anthropomorphiques à mi-chemin entre surréalisme poétique, dadaïsme et expressionnisme.
Réalisé à partir d'un objet trouvé habillé de couleurs chatoyantes et traduisant une volonté quasi chamanique de transcender la nature, Torso illustre à la perfection l'esthétique primitiviste prônée par le mouvement CoBrA. Avec Torso, Appel scelle ainsi le pacte qu'il a conclu quelques années plus tôt avec Jorn et Dotremont, rêvant d'un art populaire, enfantin et archaïque qui ferait table rase du passé et réenchanterait l'art sous toutes ses formes.
EN:
The second art holds a special place in the work of Karel Appel. Whether inspired from assemblages, models, or ready-mades, sculpture was for the Dutch artist the perfect way to explore the field of possibilities without the constraints of the two-dimensional canvas.
At the beginning of the 60's, Appel spent two consecutive summers in the haven of Jean Larcade in Nice, an eminent defender of informal art and the director of the famous Rive Droite gallery in Paris. This is where he made one of his most famous series of sculptures digging out olive tree stumps. Appel would then model their natural swirls in order to bring out the shapes of anthropomorphic figures, who resembled simultaneously the poetry of Surrealism, Dadaism and Expressionism.
Forged from a found object covered in vivid colours and expressing an almost shamanic desire to transcend nature, Torso perfectly illustrates the primitive aesthetic praised by CoBrA. With Torso, Appel sealed the deal he concluded a few years earlier with Jorn and Dotremont, as they dreamed of a popular, childish and archaic art that would start afresh and re-enchant art in all its forms.
This work is registered in the archive of the Karel Appel Foundation.
Au tout début des années soixante, Appel passe deux étés consécutifs dans le havre niçois de Jean Larcade, éminent promoteur de l'art informel et directeur de la fameuse galerie Rive Droite à Paris. C'est là qu'il réalise l'une de ses plus importantes séries de sculptures, déterrant des souches d'oliviers dont il travaille les volutes naturelles pour en faire surgir des figures anthropomorphiques à mi-chemin entre surréalisme poétique, dadaïsme et expressionnisme.
Réalisé à partir d'un objet trouvé habillé de couleurs chatoyantes et traduisant une volonté quasi chamanique de transcender la nature, Torso illustre à la perfection l'esthétique primitiviste prônée par le mouvement CoBrA. Avec Torso, Appel scelle ainsi le pacte qu'il a conclu quelques années plus tôt avec Jorn et Dotremont, rêvant d'un art populaire, enfantin et archaïque qui ferait table rase du passé et réenchanterait l'art sous toutes ses formes.
EN:
The second art holds a special place in the work of Karel Appel. Whether inspired from assemblages, models, or ready-mades, sculpture was for the Dutch artist the perfect way to explore the field of possibilities without the constraints of the two-dimensional canvas.
At the beginning of the 60's, Appel spent two consecutive summers in the haven of Jean Larcade in Nice, an eminent defender of informal art and the director of the famous Rive Droite gallery in Paris. This is where he made one of his most famous series of sculptures digging out olive tree stumps. Appel would then model their natural swirls in order to bring out the shapes of anthropomorphic figures, who resembled simultaneously the poetry of Surrealism, Dadaism and Expressionism.
Forged from a found object covered in vivid colours and expressing an almost shamanic desire to transcend nature, Torso perfectly illustrates the primitive aesthetic praised by CoBrA. With Torso, Appel sealed the deal he concluded a few years earlier with Jorn and Dotremont, as they dreamed of a popular, childish and archaic art that would start afresh and re-enchant art in all its forms.
This work is registered in the archive of the Karel Appel Foundation.