Dating from 1957, Grande personage is a stunning example of Arp’s mature sculpture, displaying a formal purity and a high level of abstraction that characterize his most accomplished works. Its elegant, elongated form is subtly reminiscent of a human figure, while its simplicity and smooth, polished surface transcend a figuration, metamorphosing into a form suggestive of a curvilinear tree trunk. This abstract, transcendental quality characteristic of Arp’s late sculpture bears strong stylistic, technical and poetic affinities with the work of Constantin Brancusi (see fig. 1). As Stephanie Poley observed: “Arp was concerned with purity, with being free, being independent of everything unpleasant and limiting, and with the active, constant emission of positive energy as well as its perception” (S. Poley Arp (exhibition catalogue) Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, 1987, p. 229).
Writing about his life in 1958, Arp began his essay entitled Looking with the following: "To open my eyes, to see, to look, to contemplate the world, to watch clouds and trees, to behold cities and buildings, to look works of art in the eye, to look men in the eye, to see, to look—ever since my childhood this has been my greatest joy" (quoted in Arp, New York, 1958, p. 12). In his observation of the physical world around him as well as his influence of and in various artistic movements in the early-to-mid twentieth century, Arp developed a sophisticated vocabulary across media and disciplines.
The legendary art historian and museum director Alfred Barr once described Jean Arp as a “one-man laboratory for the discovery of new form” (quoted in J.T. Soby, Arp (exhibition catalogue), The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1958, p. 7). The present work is indeed an extraordinary example of the artist's ability to take inspiration from natural forms around him, while always managing to transcend the realm of the tangible. The wonderfully organic and sensual quality of this sculpture is further enhanced by its title, which gives it a tender, romantic, as well as a playful note. The artist is inviting the viewer to join him in looking and marveling with fresh eyes at the forms that surround us: objects that when presented in an unfamiliar context or scale, look more like forms from the landscape of our subconscious. The viewer cannot help but be seduced by the sculpture’s undulating lines and admire the subtle yet voluptuous curves and shadowy crevices.
Jean Arp's most successful sculptures are characterized by their unblemished surfaces and smooth curvilinear forms. Since his involvement with Dada and Surrealism in the 1920s and 1930s and until the end of his life, the elegant beauty of Arp's sculpture was increasingly analyzed in terms of spirituality. Recognized throughout his career for his ability to transcend formal boundaries and create works of art that could be interpreted differently depending upon a given viewer's needs and expectations, Arp was labelled by one critic as "a well-rounded mystic" for his ability to appeal to a wide audience. At the heart of Arp's success is the organic beauty of his sculptures, which seem to manifest from a vision unencumbered by any formal constraints.
The market for works by Jean Arp has grown increasingly strong in recent years. The t.mes less quality of his marbles, stones and bronzes continues to appeal to discerning collects ors, with the playful, surreal effect of these biomorphic forms fully imbuing any space that they inhabit. Records for the artist’s work in both bronze and marble have been set in the last three years. The present work was acquired directly from the artist shortly after it was cast by noted surrealist collects or Barnet Hodes; it remained in his collects ion until his death when it was purchased by a private collects or from his estate in 1984. It has remained in the same private collects ion for over thirty-five years.
Recent Results for Jean Arp’s Bronzes at Auction
Click below to see Arp at work in his studio