With its sleek curves and amorphous form, Torse d’ange is a remarkable example of Arp’s unique sculptural vision. Oscillating between organic forms, evocative of the natural world, and elements reminiscent of human anatomy, the present work is an elegant abstraction of the female form demonstrating Arp’s interest in and facility for isolating elements of the human body, as remarked upon by art historian Eduard Trier: ‘Arp knows only the torso, but not as a fragment of something originally whole. The torso becomes an independent complete form’ (E. Trier, Jean Arp: Sculpture, 1957-66, London, 1968, p. XI).

Through his highly stylisted sculptural language, Arp sought to unveil the poetry hidden within often overlooked forms. The artist took pleasure in seeing how his sculptures interacted with their surroundings and entered into a dialogue with the world around them. Torse d'ange is reflective of a central tenet of Arp’s creative manifesto: ‘All things, and man as well, should be like nature, without.mes asure [...] I wanted to create new appearances, to extract new forms from man" (Jean (Hans) Arp, quoted in Serge Fauchereau, Arp, 1988, p. 15).

The intimation of a raised angel’s wing draws to mind the Nikes found in Classical antiquity, whilst also recalling Arp’s earlier works. The motif of the wing first appears in the famous sculpture Demeter that Arp rendered three years prior to the present work’s conception. Torse d’ange also presents a visual development of Arp’s smaller work entitled Entité ailée of 1961, which depicts the upper torso of the angel but with a different solution to the truncation of the model. All three works, the present included, are united through the motif of the outstretched wing and offer an insight into the artist’s working process during these creatively fertile years.

THE SCULPTURAL EVOLUTION OF THE WINGED FORM

Torse d’ange has esteemed provenance having remained in the family of Franco Amici, a friend of Arp’s and the founder of the Fondeur Bronzart in Mendrisio where so many of Arp’s sculptures were cast, before it was acquired by the present owner. It comes onto the market for the first t.mes .