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拍品專文
‘A sculpture must have its own life. Rather than give the impression of a smaller object carved out of a bigger block, it should make the observer feel that what he is seeing contains within itself its own organic energy thrusting outwards’ – Henry Moore
The Family Group is considered to be one of Moore’s most celebrated series, synonymous with the Mother and Child and Reclining Figure series. Conceived in 1944 the present work is one of the earliest examples of the family groups that Moore created from 1944-1947, which would culminate in Moore’s first bronze monumental sculpture of the same title in 1948 and 1949. Executed in 1944, towards the end of the Second World War, the Family Group series stands as one of the most socially conscious of Moore’s works, with the artist promoting the ideals of social cohesion and unity. The series expands on the motif of the Mother and Child, transforming it into a larger family group, which is seen here in the intimate fourfold unit.
Though inevitably sharpened by Moore’s experiences of war, the ideas for Family Group were set in motion several years before the outbreak of conflict. His earliest notes on the theme date from 1934-1935, when the Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius asked him to create a sculpture for a school he was designing in Impington, just outside Cambridge. Henry Morris, the county’s Chief Education Officer, was attempting to instigate a series of ‘village colleges’, which aimed to unite primary, secondary and adult learning in a single centre of study. Moore recalled: ‘We talked and discussed it and I think from that time dates my idea for the family as a subject for sculpture. Instead of just building a school, he was going to make a centre for the whole life of the surrounding villages, and we hit upon this idea of the family being the unit that we were aiming at’ (H. Moore, 1963, quoted in A. Wilkinson (ed.), Henry Moore: Writings and Conversations, Aldershot, 2002, p. 89). Although it was not until 1944 that Moore began to work on the project. It was prematurely cut short nine months later due to lack of funding.
The Family Group series can also be seen to bear a strong connection to the Shelter Drawings of 1940-1941. Moore’s experience as a wartime artist had opened his eyes to the preciousness and fragility of family life: none more so than his first encounter with the makeshift bomb shelter at Belsize Park Underground Station in 1941. Thematically, his drawings of families huddled together under blankets set the tone for much of his subsequent oeuvre, initially inspiring a renewed focus on grouped sculpture. In these tunnels buried underground Moore was faced not only with the terror of warfare, but perhaps more importantly the stoicism and strength of humanity. Here he witnessed acts of love and protection, as people lay huddled together in the shelters, their bodies pressed against one another for comfort and reassurance. These visions of human sympathy and kindness were to stay with Moore, imbuing his sculptural output with a newfound tenderness and accord, as seen in the present work.
One of the most prominent features in his Shelter Drawings, which is seen to striking effect in the Family Group, is the artist’s propensity for drapery. Moore found that it could successfully convey the form and weight of his bodies, while also creating a sense of patriarchy, with his parental figures differing from the unclothed children, as seen here. Utilising this technique Moore created not only a sense of monumentality but also unity between his figures, with the folds of material unifying his forms as a single entity. Inspired by the classical art of the Greek and Romans, as well as the Ancient Egyptian and Pre-Columbian societies, which he studied at the British Museum, his experiments with clothed anatomies would be driven to new heights following his visit to Greece in 1951, where he admired the sculpted swathes of material that cloaked its ancient monuments.
Moore explained his fascination: ‘Drapery can emphasise the tension in a figure, for where the form pushes outwards, such as on the shoulders, the thighs, the breasts, etc. … it can be pulled tight across the form (almost like a bandage), and by contrast with the crumpled slackness of the drapery which lies between the salient points, the pressure from inside is intensified’ (H. Moore, quoted in P. James, Henry Moore on Sculpture, London, 1968, p. 231).
For Moore, the enduring appeal of the Family Group lay in the endless formal and spatial possibilities, with Moore continually experimenting with his placement and interaction of forms. This symbiotic relationship between form and space was one of Moore’s central and most enduring sculptural innovations, offering infinite views through and around the sculpture. Moore explores the relationship between positive and negative space here, inserting apertures in the chair at the heart of the work and poignantly between the mother and her child, who she tenderly cradles. Moore stressed the importance of such relationship, stating, ‘You can’t understand space without being able to understand form and to understand form you must be able to understand space’ (H. Moore, quoted in C. Lichtenstern, Henry Moore: Work-Theory-Impact, London, 2008, p. 105).
The increased manipulation and complexity of Moore’s forms was made possible through the artist’s adoption of working in bronze. From the 1940s onwards, the carving practices he had cultivated during the previous two decades were gradually relinquished in favour of the flexibility afforded by bronze casting. The Family Group series stands among his first major essays in the medium, anticipating the increasingly prominent role it would come to play in his subsequent practice. ‘It would have held one back to go on carving’, Moore explained, ‘My desire to understand space made the change to bronze necessary. One should not be dominated by the material’ (H. Moore, quoted in A. Bowness (ed.), Henry Moore: The Complete Sculpture: 1964-1973, Vol. 4, London, 1977, p. 12).
The Family Group is considered to be one of Moore’s most celebrated series, synonymous with the Mother and Child and Reclining Figure series. Conceived in 1944 the present work is one of the earliest examples of the family groups that Moore created from 1944-1947, which would culminate in Moore’s first bronze monumental sculpture of the same title in 1948 and 1949. Executed in 1944, towards the end of the Second World War, the Family Group series stands as one of the most socially conscious of Moore’s works, with the artist promoting the ideals of social cohesion and unity. The series expands on the motif of the Mother and Child, transforming it into a larger family group, which is seen here in the intimate fourfold unit.
Though inevitably sharpened by Moore’s experiences of war, the ideas for Family Group were set in motion several years before the outbreak of conflict. His earliest notes on the theme date from 1934-1935, when the Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius asked him to create a sculpture for a school he was designing in Impington, just outside Cambridge. Henry Morris, the county’s Chief Education Officer, was attempting to instigate a series of ‘village colleges’, which aimed to unite primary, secondary and adult learning in a single centre of study. Moore recalled: ‘We talked and discussed it and I think from that time dates my idea for the family as a subject for sculpture. Instead of just building a school, he was going to make a centre for the whole life of the surrounding villages, and we hit upon this idea of the family being the unit that we were aiming at’ (H. Moore, 1963, quoted in A. Wilkinson (ed.), Henry Moore: Writings and Conversations, Aldershot, 2002, p. 89). Although it was not until 1944 that Moore began to work on the project. It was prematurely cut short nine months later due to lack of funding.
The Family Group series can also be seen to bear a strong connection to the Shelter Drawings of 1940-1941. Moore’s experience as a wartime artist had opened his eyes to the preciousness and fragility of family life: none more so than his first encounter with the makeshift bomb shelter at Belsize Park Underground Station in 1941. Thematically, his drawings of families huddled together under blankets set the tone for much of his subsequent oeuvre, initially inspiring a renewed focus on grouped sculpture. In these tunnels buried underground Moore was faced not only with the terror of warfare, but perhaps more importantly the stoicism and strength of humanity. Here he witnessed acts of love and protection, as people lay huddled together in the shelters, their bodies pressed against one another for comfort and reassurance. These visions of human sympathy and kindness were to stay with Moore, imbuing his sculptural output with a newfound tenderness and accord, as seen in the present work.
One of the most prominent features in his Shelter Drawings, which is seen to striking effect in the Family Group, is the artist’s propensity for drapery. Moore found that it could successfully convey the form and weight of his bodies, while also creating a sense of patriarchy, with his parental figures differing from the unclothed children, as seen here. Utilising this technique Moore created not only a sense of monumentality but also unity between his figures, with the folds of material unifying his forms as a single entity. Inspired by the classical art of the Greek and Romans, as well as the Ancient Egyptian and Pre-Columbian societies, which he studied at the British Museum, his experiments with clothed anatomies would be driven to new heights following his visit to Greece in 1951, where he admired the sculpted swathes of material that cloaked its ancient monuments.
Moore explained his fascination: ‘Drapery can emphasise the tension in a figure, for where the form pushes outwards, such as on the shoulders, the thighs, the breasts, etc. … it can be pulled tight across the form (almost like a bandage), and by contrast with the crumpled slackness of the drapery which lies between the salient points, the pressure from inside is intensified’ (H. Moore, quoted in P. James, Henry Moore on Sculpture, London, 1968, p. 231).
For Moore, the enduring appeal of the Family Group lay in the endless formal and spatial possibilities, with Moore continually experimenting with his placement and interaction of forms. This symbiotic relationship between form and space was one of Moore’s central and most enduring sculptural innovations, offering infinite views through and around the sculpture. Moore explores the relationship between positive and negative space here, inserting apertures in the chair at the heart of the work and poignantly between the mother and her child, who she tenderly cradles. Moore stressed the importance of such relationship, stating, ‘You can’t understand space without being able to understand form and to understand form you must be able to understand space’ (H. Moore, quoted in C. Lichtenstern, Henry Moore: Work-Theory-Impact, London, 2008, p. 105).
The increased manipulation and complexity of Moore’s forms was made possible through the artist’s adoption of working in bronze. From the 1940s onwards, the carving practices he had cultivated during the previous two decades were gradually relinquished in favour of the flexibility afforded by bronze casting. The Family Group series stands among his first major essays in the medium, anticipating the increasingly prominent role it would come to play in his subsequent practice. ‘It would have held one back to go on carving’, Moore explained, ‘My desire to understand space made the change to bronze necessary. One should not be dominated by the material’ (H. Moore, quoted in A. Bowness (ed.), Henry Moore: The Complete Sculpture: 1964-1973, Vol. 4, London, 1977, p. 12).