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Impressionist and Modern Art
|
- Sale 6379
Live
| New York
Oct 28 | 11:00 AM EDT
Live
| New York
Sale 6379
| New York
| New York
Estimate$20,000 – $30,000
We are grateful to Anita Feldman Bennet, curator at the Henry Moore Foundation, for her kind assistance in the preparation of this note.
Provenance:
Fondation Martin Bodmer, Bibliotecha Bodmeriana, Cologny, Geneva.
Christie's, New York, sale of January 23, 2002, lot 184.
Acquired directly from the above sale by the present owner.
Literature:
Ann Garrould, Henry Moore. Complete Drawings, 3, 1940-49, London and Much Hadham, London, 2001, no. AG50.20/HMF2591, p. 308 (illustrated p. 309 with incorrect number AG50.19).
Lot Essay:
This dynamic composition is a preparatory study for one of the eight full-page lithographs Henry Moore created to illustrate André Gide’s French translation of Goethe’s Prometheus, published by Henri Jonquières in Paris in 1951. Goethe’s Prometheus reimagines the ancient Titan who defied Zeus by bringing fire and knowledge to humankind, as a symbol of creative independence and human resilience. For Goethe, as for later Romantic artists, Prometheus embodied the self-reliant creator who draws power from his own imagination rather than divine authority.
The image derives from a page of studies once belonging to Moore’s Promethée sketchbook (Notebook 7, HMF 2564), which the artist later disassembled and sold in 1984. While the sketchbook is generally dated 1949–50, Moore did not receive the commission until December 1949, suggesting that most related drawings were executed in 1950. A related version, in darker tones, is held in a private American collection (HMF 2592).
The present composition illustrates the Death of Mira, a dramatic episode unique to Goethe’s version. In this scene, Prometheus’s daughter Pandora recounts her friend Mira’s descent into death, prompting her father’s lyrical reflection on mortality. Goethe’s verses describe death not as destruction but as transformation; an inward journey in which the self encompasses an entire world.
In overall very good condition. The sheet is loose, with evidence of light discoloration (likely from handling) along the outer edges of the sheet, and minor soiling traces in the margins (see at bottom right, towards the right edge; at bottom left, towards the left edge. Pinpoint pinhole at upper right corner. Small foxing mark in the margin at upper left corner. The edges of the sheet are relatively straight, with beveled edges along the bottom and right outer edges. The verso is inscribed, with various traces of surface soiling. With a remnants of glue, and of an old white mesh hinge at upper right. Accumulated surface soiling along the extreme edges. Additional images available upon request.
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