Alexander Calder
1898-1976Composition, 1969
Signed and dated lower right 'Calder 69'; dedicated lower middle and lower right 'à Anne-Marie (Hammer)'
Gouache and ink on paper
29 1/8 x 42 7/8 in, 74 x 109 cm
This lyrical painting by Alexander Calder was made in 1969 in the same year that the magnificent new studio ‘Le Carroi’ was completed in the small village of Saché in...
This lyrical painting by Alexander Calder was made in 1969 in the same year that the magnificent new studio ‘Le Carroi’ was completed in the small village of Saché in the Loire Valley. Establishing himself in this idyllic region of France during the 1950s, Calder quickly became a valued member of the Saché community as he hired local craftsmen and commissioned the nearby Tours factory to help construct his famous mobiles and stabiles.
‘Composition’ is dedicated to one particular close friend made during this period, Anne-Marie Marteau. A maths teacher from Tours, Marteau (meaning hammer) was a radical member of the ‘Liberation-North’ resistance movement during the Second World War and frequent visitor to ‘Le Carroi’. Nicknamed ‘Albino’, Marteau organised the first meetings of the resistance in the region to shelter Jews, objectors and foreign soldiers, and established a children’s protection agency in 1946. Calder, amongst other artists such as Max Ernst and Olivier Debré, donated key works to help raise funds for this cause after the war, including the present 'Composition'.
In Anne-Marie Marteau’s endearing essay ‘Hello Mister Calder!’ from the exhibition catalogue ‘Alexandre Calder en Touraine’ (2008) for the Château de Tours, she recalls the idyllic life that her friend had created in Saché and the charming studio that became a favourite spot for local tourists. The title ‘Hello Mister Calder!’ captures the lively spirit of the artist; referring to the shouts heard from passers-by hoping to catch a glimpse of the man himself and a playful reference to the famous painting ‘The Meeting (Bonjour Monsieur Courbet)’ (1854) by Gustave Courbet in which the artist is greeted by his faithful patron Alfred Bruyas. In this article Marteau celebrates how “the world of Calder has become familiar to the people of Tours” and her own unique response to his mobiles: “I was alone in the middle of them, utterly happy in a world of mathematics and poetry, of space and movement, which seemed to me to be eternal, and joyful.”
‘Composition’ is dedicated to one particular close friend made during this period, Anne-Marie Marteau. A maths teacher from Tours, Marteau (meaning hammer) was a radical member of the ‘Liberation-North’ resistance movement during the Second World War and frequent visitor to ‘Le Carroi’. Nicknamed ‘Albino’, Marteau organised the first meetings of the resistance in the region to shelter Jews, objectors and foreign soldiers, and established a children’s protection agency in 1946. Calder, amongst other artists such as Max Ernst and Olivier Debré, donated key works to help raise funds for this cause after the war, including the present 'Composition'.
In Anne-Marie Marteau’s endearing essay ‘Hello Mister Calder!’ from the exhibition catalogue ‘Alexandre Calder en Touraine’ (2008) for the Château de Tours, she recalls the idyllic life that her friend had created in Saché and the charming studio that became a favourite spot for local tourists. The title ‘Hello Mister Calder!’ captures the lively spirit of the artist; referring to the shouts heard from passers-by hoping to catch a glimpse of the man himself and a playful reference to the famous painting ‘The Meeting (Bonjour Monsieur Courbet)’ (1854) by Gustave Courbet in which the artist is greeted by his faithful patron Alfred Bruyas. In this article Marteau celebrates how “the world of Calder has become familiar to the people of Tours” and her own unique response to his mobiles: “I was alone in the middle of them, utterly happy in a world of mathematics and poetry, of space and movement, which seemed to me to be eternal, and joyful.”
Provenance
Gifted from the artist to Anne-Marie Marteau, FranceThence by descent