Marcel Broodthaers

Wide White Space, Antwerp
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Colours: The colours are fairly accurate in the catalogue illustration. The image for number (iv) is incorrectly illustrated in the catalogue as there is a rectangular label beneath the circular label and the blue coloured box is silver in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. (i) There are light rub marks to the bottom of the black spine on the reverse. (ii) There is slight lifting to all four corners of the border. There are a very light rub marks in some places through the work and a small abrasion to the first 'E' of the word peinture in the bottom line of text. (iv) There is a light rub mark to the bottom right hand corner and small adhesive accretions to the corners of the rectangular label.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

 

Le Corbeau et le Renard is one of the most important works by Marcel Broodthaers. It marks the end of his activity as an object-maker and introduces a more conceptual period in his work. In essence the work comprises a film combined with super-impositions of special texts and images conceived by the artist. The portfolio, together with the typographies and the photographic canvases it comprises, acts as a resumé of Broodthaers art up to 1967.

The original concept for Le Corbeau et le Renard came when the artist began filming the objects around him and wishing to superimpose them with texts and images of his wife, his daughter, of Magritte and a bouquet of flowers. Ever the innovator, Broodthaers intended the works to co-exist as an avant-garde environment of film, images and the written word which was based on a poem the artist wrote inspired by La Fontaine's fable, Le Corbeau et le Renard. Broodthaers initially hoped to present the work at the experimental festival in Knokke-Le-Zoute, Belgium, in 1967. However, it was refused for its overly vanguard nature. At this point, spotting the potential of the project, the Wide White Space Gallery offered to make the work into an edition of 40 and exhibit it at the gallery.

The edition Le Corbeau et le Renard was the subject of two separate exhibitions at the avant-garde gallery Wide White Space in Antwerp in 1968 and again in 1972. The first exhibit in 1968 comprised the whole `environment' work containing the projection of a film and the presentation of the accompanying ensemble of images and texts, including the self-portrait of Broodthaers viewed from the back writing out the fable of Le Corbeau et le Renard. Of the planned edition of 40, only 7 copies were fabricated due to the cost of production. The remaining copies were made in a slightly modified edition in 1972 and featured in a second exhibition at the gallery. In Broodthaers own words:

``C'est un essai pour nier autant que possible le sens du mot comme celui de l'image.'' (Marcel Broodthaers, ``Interview de Marcel Broodthaers'' in Trépied, Brussels, February 1968, no. 2, pp. 4-5).

Other examples from the edition are in the Nationalgalerie in Berlin and the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique.