Figure
1926-30
Jacques Lipchitz (French, 1891-1973)
On View

Born in Lithuania, Lipchitz settled in Paris in 1909, where he became friends with Gris, Archipenko, and Modigliani, and lived next door to Brancusi. His meeting with Picasso in 1913 influenced the course of his artistic development. Lipchitz responded to the sculptural potential inherent in Cubist theory, and became the foremost Cubist sculptor of the era. Shortly before he began work on The Figure, Lipchitz experimented with small works he called "transparents." He described himself as "playing with space, with a kind of open, lyrical construction that was a revelation to me." His most famous work, The Figure, was partly inspired by the tribal art that he collected. Indeed, the bronze has a powerful presence not unlike that of totemic figures. In 1941 Lipchitz moved to the United States, where he spent the rest of his life.

Details

  • Artist Name: Jacques Lipchitz (French, 1891-1973)
  • Title: Figure
  • Date: 1926-30
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Edition: Edition of 7, Cast No. 2
  • Dimensions: 83-1/4 x 38-1/2 x 28-1/2 in. (211.5 x 97.8 x 72.4 cm)
  • Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation
  • Accession Number: M.1967.22.S
  • Copyright: © Estate of Jacques Lipchitz

Object Information

Jacques Lipchitz, A Retrospective Exhibition of Sculpture and Drawings

  • Baltimore Museum of Art, 1960-04-26 to 1960-05-29
  • Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1960-03-12 to 1960-04-10

Jacques Lipchitz, Sculptor and Collector

  • Los Angeles, University of California, 1967 to 1968

Sculpture from the Collections of Norton Simon, Inc. and the Hunt Industries Museum of Art

  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1968-08-19 to 2019-01-22

[on loan]

  • Fullerton Library, 1967-11 to 1968-08-19

Selections from the Norton Simon, Inc. Museum of Art

  • Princeton University Art Museum, 1972-12-03 to 1974-07-17
  • Wilkinson, Allan G., The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz: A Catalogue Raisonné, no. 206 p. 15, 77
  • Hammacher, A. M., Jacques Lipchitz, His Sculpture, 45-46
  • Steadman, David, Art Journal, fig. 19 p. 34-40
  • Steadman, David W., Selections from the Norton Simon, Inc. Museum of Art, no. 93 p. 245
  • Sculpture Garden, Norton Simon Museum, no. 26
  • Princeton Alumni Weekly,
  • Studio International, no. 25 p. 71
  • Otto Gerson Gallery, Fifty Years of Lipchitz Sculpture, 1961,
  • Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 396 p. 293
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Additional Artwork by Artist

Bather Jacques Lipchitz 1923-25
Bather III Jacques Lipchitz 1917; cast 1959
Dance Jacques Lipchitz 1936
Death Mask of Amedeo Modigliani Jacques Lipchitz 1920

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