Grande femme assise (Large Seated Woman)

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Henri Laurens

French, 1885-1954

Grande femme assise (Large Seated Woman), 1932

bronze

Edition: 1/6

overall: 27 1/2 x 19 1/2 x 13 inches (69.85 x 49.53 x 33.02 cm)

Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York

Gift of The Seymour H. Knox Foundation, Inc., 1966

1966:4

More Details

Inscriptions

signature, undated; inscription / back / HL 1/6

foundry stamp / back / Valsuani cire perdure

Provenance

Galerie Leiris, Paris;
to Marlborough Fine Art Ltd., London, 1932;
to Ragnar Moltzau, Oslo;
to Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York;
to G. David Thompson, Pittsburgh;
sold at auction to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Parke-Bernet Gallery, New York, sale #2420, March 23, 1966

Class

Sculpture

Work Type

Cast (sculpture)

Information may change due to ongoing research.Glossary of Terms

In 1911, Henri Laurens met Georges Braque, and they became lifelong friends. Inspired by the artist, Laurens began working in a Cubist manner, and while he eventually moved away from the style, evidence of its influence remained. Based on imagery he encountered in ancient Greek and Roman pottery, the seated woman became a favored subject, and it appears in his work as early as 1918. Laurens is known for his development of an organic, curvaceous, and abstract bravura and stated, “I aspire to a ripeness of form. I should like to succeed in making it so full, so juicy that nothing could be added.”

Label from Picasso: The Artist and His Models, November 5, 2016–February 19, 2017