Henri Laurens 1885-1954
La Petite Maternité (Early Pregnancy), 1932/lifetime cast, after 1945
Bronze
7 1/4 x 18 1/2 x 7 7/8 in
18.5 x 47 x 20 cm
18.5 x 47 x 20 cm
Numbered edition of 6 plus one 0 cast
Signed with artist's monogram, numbered 5/6, and with the foundry mark Valsuani cire perdue
Pregnancy is a relatively rare subject in the history of sculpture. The French sculptor Henri Laurens (1885-1954) addressed it in 1932. The curve of the rounded belly rises gently from...
Pregnancy is a relatively rare subject in the history of sculpture. The French sculptor Henri Laurens (1885-1954) addressed it in 1932. The curve of the rounded belly rises gently from the luxuriantly compact reclining body of the small bronze figure. It is only when we take a closer look that we notice the angular, edgy passages, for example, the pointy, cone-shaped breasts projecting from the torso. Shapes such as these remind us that in the 1910s Laurens was inspired by Cubism and adopted the layered sharp-edged forms that characterise the paintings and collages by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. 'The one problem that preoccupied us was the investigation of perception, the perception of volume and the investigation of this volume', Laurens remembered later.
Henri Laurens's works are held in public collections including Tate, London; MoMA, New York; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation, New York and Venice; Buffalo AKG Art Museum, New York.
Henri Laurens's works are held in public collections including Tate, London; MoMA, New York; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation, New York and Venice; Buffalo AKG Art Museum, New York.
Provenance
Louise Leiris Gallery, Paris
Waddington Gallery, London
Private collection, Europe, 1971
Private collection, UK
Literature
Werner Hofmann, The Sculpture of Henri Laurens, New York, 1970, the larger version illustrated p. 143.
Sandor Kuthy, Henri Laurens 1885-1954, Bern & Fribourg, 1985, nos. 53 & 54, the terracotta version illustrated p. 124 & the larger version illustrated p. 125.