Pablo Gargallo

Tériade (gift from the artist in 1927)
Alice Tériade, Paris (by descent from the above and sold: Artcurial, Paris, October 20, 2007, lot 7)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Paris, Collège d'Espagne, Cité Universitaire, Peinture et Sculpture, 1935
Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Barcelona, Paulau de la Virreina; Lisboa, Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian; Madrid, Palacio de Cristal & Zaragoza, La Lonja, Centenaire Pablo Gargallo. 1881-1981, 1980-82
Madrid, Fundación Cultural Mapfre Vida, Garagallo. La nueva edad de los metales, 1991
L'Isle sur la Sorgue, Association Campredon, Art et Culture, Pablo Gargallo, 1995

Pierrette Gargallo-Anguera, Pablo Gargallo. Catalogue raisonné, 1998, no. 132, illustrated p. 153 

Over all, excellent condition. The copper bears a mottled, dark brown patina, which is slightly warn in select areas, particularly a few tiny spots in the figure's hair and along the rim of the mask.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Fig. 1  Another view of the present work

Fig. 2  Pablo Gargallo, Masque d'Arlequin souriant I, 1926, Copper

Gargallo was born in Aragon, but it was in Barcelona that he learned his craft and began to frequent Picasso and the young intellectuals of the Els Quatre Gats cabaret. After first trying his hand at a traditional approach, the young sculptor began to distinguish himself from 1911 by using iron and copper to create masks of astonishing originality.  These metal sculptures reveal a free interpretation of the human figure which he frequently reduces to its essential bone structure by arranging convex shapes with openwork and sometimes using straight or curved rods. Many of these works exhibit Expressionist tendencies, such as deliberate stylisation and a predilection for whimsical, decorative detail. 

In 1926, Tériade, then a young journalist for Cahiers d'Art, expressed an interest in Gargallo. The future publisher's burgeoning admiration for the work of the young Catalan sculptor was swiftly translated into laudatory articles. In 1927, the critic offered a beautiful description of the Masque d'Arlequin souriant , the present version of which was in his own collection: "There remained for the modern sculptor a great source of renewal: light. He had to reinvent sculptural light. The new delimitations of mass by light, obtained through an invented technique, would have privileged the development of this aesthetic, unsuccessfully sought in the weak continuation of the classics. Gargallo attempts to do so. [...] The great originality in Gargallo's oeuvre is the quest for abstract volume through light. Dividing surfaces into convex, concave and flat areas, he manages to juxtapose his planes in a manner as perfect as it is natural in order to create living organisms where light and shade play together with the nervous emotion of restored life. [...] and in his harlequin's head, his creative power is all the more apparent. He succeeds in obtaining the richest effects of light and the most naturally human relationships with extremely simple planes. A lightly curved sheet of metal becomes for him the most sensitive and welcoming of surfaces"  (E. Tériade, "Pablo Gargallo", in Cahiers d'Art, 1927, no. 7-8, pp. 285-286).

The eight versions of the Masque d'Arlequin souriant are all discernibly different from each other. Indeed, Gargallo strove to create unique works, imbued with original characteristics. Thus, at the express request of Tériade, the sculptor created one exceptional harlequin: Masque d'Arlequin souriant III. Each element of the harlequin's appearance is subtly detailed in order to respond to the requirements of the commission: the malicious smile and gaze, the elegantly worked mask, the stylised three-cornered hat-- all enlivened by the supple locks of hair and the goatee in front which contrasts with the rectangular line of the nose.

Tériade was very attached to this work throughout his life and displayed it in the library of his Parisian apartment.