Firebird (The Russian Ballet)

Details

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (1891-1915)
Firebird (The Russian Ballet)
signed 'H Gaudier Brzeska' (on the top of the base)
bronze with green and brown patina
Height: 24 3/8 in. (62 cm.)
Conceived in 1912

Provenance

M.W. Watson Todd, Fine Art, London.
Acquired from the above by the late owners, December 1968.

Literature

H.S. Ede, Savage Messiah, London, 1931, p. 157.
H. Brodzky, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, London, 1933, p. 36 (another cast illustrated).
M. Levy, Gaudier-Brzeska Drawings and Sculpture, London, 1965, p. 29 (another cast illustrated, pl. 73).
R. Cole, Burning to Speak, The Life and Art of Henri Gaudier Brzeska, Oxford, 1978, pp. 38 and 61, no. 14 (another cast illustrated).
E. Silber, Gaudier-Brzeska Life and Art, London, 1996, pp. 254-255, no. 18 (illustrated, figs. 11-12).

Sale Room Notice

This Lot is Withdrawn.

Brought to you by

Vanessa Fusco

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Lot Essay

According to Evelyn Silber, "Julian Lousada commissioned this group showing Adolph Bolm and Tamara Karsavina in the Ballet Russe production of Stravinsky's The Firebird, which was performed in London for the first time during the Ballet Russe season from 12 June-1 August, 1912. The sculpture depicts the moment when Ivan Tsarevich captures the Firebird. Lousada received a plaster and paid ₤20 for one bronze cast, the highest price paid for any of his works in his lifetime" (op. cit.).

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