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Lot Essay
Ant 51 is one of Yves Klein's Anthropometries, works in which a model has been used to create an image in the artist's trademark IKB, or International Klein Blue. The Anthropometries evolved from his monochromes, which were windows of the infinite, manifestations of the Immaterial, a spiritual realm that the artist believed exists around us all. The colour blue, a traditional signifier of heaven, sky and water - represents the sublime and the boundless nature of space. An unusual variation in this series, Ant 51 shows the imprint of a woman's body layered three times on the pure white ground, a holy trinity that expresses the artist's beliefs in the universal forces of nature, and of life.
Many of the Anthropometries were executed within a ritual atmosphere, with an orchestra playing Klein's own composition, the Symphonie monotone in the background, the artist himself presiding in evening dress, instructing the models, naked but for the IKB in which they had daubed themselves. Klein would paint the core of the model's body, focussing only on the torso and thighs, the engine house of life that is not influenced by intellectual control. Although he was detached from the physical labour of the artwork, as the artist, Klein was the source of the intellect, the master creator:
'Detached and distant, the work of art must complete itself before my eyes and under my command. Thus, as soon as the work is realised, I stand there, present at the ceremony, spotless, calm, relaxed, worthy of it, and ready to receive it as it is born into the tangible world' (Klein, quoted in N. Rosenthal, 'Assisted Levitation: The Art of Yves Klein', pp. 89-135, Yves Klein 1928-1962: A Retrospective, exh. cat., Houston 1982, p. 124).
Klein's Anthropometries are considered his most daring contribution to the lexicon of art history. A combination of performance and body art, Klein's use of "living brushes" brought the figure back into avant-garde European art in a new way that avoided the falseness of illusionist representation. ANT 51 captures the real imprint of the body, and at the same time somehow depict the very essence of the human spirit.
Many of the Anthropometries were executed within a ritual atmosphere, with an orchestra playing Klein's own composition, the Symphonie monotone in the background, the artist himself presiding in evening dress, instructing the models, naked but for the IKB in which they had daubed themselves. Klein would paint the core of the model's body, focussing only on the torso and thighs, the engine house of life that is not influenced by intellectual control. Although he was detached from the physical labour of the artwork, as the artist, Klein was the source of the intellect, the master creator:
'Detached and distant, the work of art must complete itself before my eyes and under my command. Thus, as soon as the work is realised, I stand there, present at the ceremony, spotless, calm, relaxed, worthy of it, and ready to receive it as it is born into the tangible world' (Klein, quoted in N. Rosenthal, 'Assisted Levitation: The Art of Yves Klein', pp. 89-135, Yves Klein 1928-1962: A Retrospective, exh. cat., Houston 1982, p. 124).
Klein's Anthropometries are considered his most daring contribution to the lexicon of art history. A combination of performance and body art, Klein's use of "living brushes" brought the figure back into avant-garde European art in a new way that avoided the falseness of illusionist representation. ANT 51 captures the real imprint of the body, and at the same time somehow depict the very essence of the human spirit.