Bronze with green and brown patina
Conceived in 1981 and cast in 1982 at Susse Fondeur, Paris in an edition of 8 plus 3 artist's proofs plus 1 H.C.
8 1/8 x 9 1/8 x 4 3/4 in, 20.4 x 22.9 x 12.2 cm
Signed and numbered 'Lobo 6/8'; stamped with foundry mark 'Susse Fondeur Paris'
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This elegant reclining female is characteristic of Spanish sculptor Baltasar Lobo’s sensual representation of the human figure to which he would return repeatedly throughout his career. In 1939 Lobo escaped...
This elegant reclining female is characteristic of Spanish sculptor Baltasar Lobo’s sensual representation of the human figure to which he would return repeatedly throughout his career. In 1939 Lobo escaped Franco’s Fascist regime for Paris and quickly found himself immersed in the vibrant avant-garde community in Montparnasse alongside Pablo Picasso, Jacques Lipchitz and Henri Laurens. As a young artist Lobo forged a particularly strong friendship with Laurens, for whom he worked as an assistant.
Surrounded by the work of pivotal Modernist sculptors Jean Arp, Constantin Brancusi and Joan Miró, Lobo used the contours of the female form as a means to explore abstraction. However, while Lobo teetered on the very edge of an abstract language, he maintained a constant connection to the balance, form and femininity of naturalism. Lobo explained, “My current work is, as always, figurative; which is to say that it is abstract. It necessarily begins with figuration. Simplified and synthesized, it becomes abstraction. By simplifying this reality I distil its emotion, coming to feel and communicate it more directly.” In ‘L'île du levant’, Lobo condenses the female form to its elemental twists and curves, inspired by the primitive art forms of early Iberian sculpture that also interested Picasso and Laurens. As with much of his work in bronze, Lobo worked intensely on the patina to allow his materials to complement the sensuality of the forms.
Despite the political turmoil which defined his early career, Lobo’s deeply poetic sculptures earned him international recognition and critical acclaim. During this late period Lobo’s work was finally exhibited in his home town in Zamora before a permanent museum was also established. In 1984 he was awarded the Spanish National Prize for Sculpture. Lobo’s sculptures can now be found in major international collections including the Centro d'Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Tokyo National Museum; Museum of Modern Art, Luxembourg; National Gallery, Prague; State Gallery, Stuttgart and Fine Arts Museum, Bilbao.
Private Collection, Paris (gifted by the artist in 1986) Private Collection (acquired from the above)
Literature
This work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue raisonné of sculptures by Baltasar Lobo currently being prepared by Galería Freites under the archive number 8101 and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by Alejandro Freites and dated 29 May 2017. A copy of this certificate of authenticity is recorded in the files of Galería Freites under no.17.37
J.-E. Muller & V. Bollmann-Müller, Lobo, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre sculpté, La Bibliothèque des Arts, Paris, 1985, another cast illus. no.499