GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This sculpture is an assemblage of distinct and reductive elements, an interplay of concave and convex forms. Its identity as a human figure is underscored through the relative readability of a few important details. The small round "eye," for instance, helps to articulate the face. The gentle slope of an almost horizontal line suggests a "shoulder." The profile of the legs connotes slightly bent "knees." The manner in which the legs are truncated by the bronze base suggests, uncannily, that the figure is wading through water, holding up her skirts above the watery surface. The artist achieves a delicate balance between descriptive details and the broader abstract forms.
Excerpt from
DMA label copy, January 2003.
NOTES
Created 1923-1925
Checked Piction
General Description:
Arts of Europe label text, January 2003
Public Notes
Lipchitz's "Bather" combines cubist-inspired stylization and abstraction with a nod to the French classicist figural tradition that extends even to the choice of material and technique - cast bronze. The massive limbs of this figure are comparable to the geometricized and fragmented body parts in Fernand Léger's monumental odalisques. [see Dallas Museum of Art, 1982.27.FA] "The Bather" can also be situated close to Pablo Picasso's classically inspired and equally massive bathers executed in 1922.
An assemblage of distinct and reductive elements, this sculpture is an interplay of concave and convex forms. The relative readability of a few important details reveals its identity as a human figure: the small round "eye," for instance, helps to articulate the face; the gentle slope of an almost horizontal line suggests a shoulder; and a slight bend in the profile of the legs connotes knees. The manner in which the legs are truncated by the bronze base suggests, uncannily, that the figure is wading through water, even holding up skirts above an aqueous surface. The artist achieves a delicate balance, then, between descriptive details and broader abstract forms.
"Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection," page 129
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Lipchitz, Jacques (French, 1891-1973)
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
Process/materials
Bronze
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- The Jewish Museum, New York~Learn more about the life and work of Jacques Lipchitz.
- Tate, London~View other works by Jacques Lipchitz.
- Museum of Modern Art, New York~Learn more about the artist and his work in this 1954 catalog The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz.
- Art Institute of Chicago~Check out this 1916 painting by Amedeo Modigliani of Jacques Lipchitz and his wife Berthe.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1967.20
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General Description
This sculpture is an assemblage of distinct and reductive elements, an interplay of concave and convex forms. Its identity as a human figure is underscored through the relative readability of a few important details. The small round "eye," for instance, helps to articulate the face. The gentle slope of an almost horizontal line suggests a "shoulder." The profile of the legs connotes slightly bent "knees." The manner in which the legs are truncated by the bronze base suggests, uncannily, that the figure is wading through water, holding up her skirts above the watery surface. The artist achieves a delicate balance between descriptive details and the broader abstract forms.
Excerpt from
DMA label copy, January 2003.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- The Jewish Museum, New York~Learn more about the life and work of Jacques Lipchitz.
- Tate, London~View other works by Jacques Lipchitz.
- Museum of Modern Art, New York~Learn more about the artist and his work in this 1954 catalog The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz.
- Art Institute of Chicago~Check out this 1916 painting by Amedeo Modigliani of Jacques Lipchitz and his wife Berthe.
Notes
Created 1923-1925
Checked Piction
General Description:
Arts of Europe label text, January 2003
Public Notes
Lipchitz's "Bather" combines cubist-inspired stylization and abstraction with a nod to the French classicist figural tradition that extends even to the choice of material and technique - cast bronze. The massive limbs of this figure are comparable to the geometricized and fragmented body parts in Fernand Léger's monumental odalisques. [see Dallas Museum of Art, 1982.27.FA] "The Bather" can also be situated close to Pablo Picasso's classically inspired and equally massive bathers executed in 1922.
An assemblage of distinct and reductive elements, this sculpture is an interplay of concave and convex forms. The relative readability of a few important details reveals its identity as a human figure: the small round "eye," for instance, helps to articulate the face; the gentle slope of an almost horizontal line suggests a shoulder; and a slight bend in the profile of the legs connotes knees. The manner in which the legs are truncated by the bronze base suggests, uncannily, that the figure is wading through water, even holding up skirts above an aqueous surface. The artist achieves a delicate balance, then, between descriptive details and broader abstract forms.
"Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection," page 129
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Lipchitz, Jacques (French, 1891-1973)
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
Process/materials
Bronze
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1967.20
source file
object_notes_2_b-0056.xml.nores