1971.94 Hepworth, Contrapuntal Forms (Mycenae)

In Contrapuntal Forms (Mycenae), two marble figures are turned toward one another as though in conversation. The sculpture's title underscores this interactive quality. In music, counterpoint combines two or more independent melodies to create one harmonic texture. Mycenae refers to a Greek civilization that flourished during the second millennium BCE, implying that the abstract forms engage with antiquity as much as they do with each other.

One of England's most important 20th–century sculptors, Barbara Hepworth explored the dynamics of human relationships through her abstract compositions and the interpenetration of space and form. She always preferred carving over modeling, and she avoided using mechanical tools, choosing to work by hand.

Hepworth_Barbara: ULAN: 500010387

marble: AAT: 300011443

teak (wood): AAT: 300012453

twentieth century (dates CE): AAT: 300404514

abstract (general art genre): AAT: 300417511

Abstract Expressionist: AAT: 300022099

modernist (European style): AAT: 300021474

negative space: AAT: 300056295

piercing: AAT: 300231153

rhythm (formal concept): AAT: 300056305

sculpture: AAT: 300047090

1966: James H. Clark, purchased from Gimpel Fils Limited, London [1] 

1971: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Clark [2] 

The main source for this provenance is the letter from James H. Clark to Merrill C. Rueppel of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, dated December 27, 1971, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records object file. Exceptions and supporting documentation are noted. 

[1] See the letter from Charles Gimpel of Gimpel Fils Ltd. to James Clark, Esq. dated July 15, 1966, copy in object file. 

[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

Apply to objects where number equals 1971.94