Jean Arp

Alex Maguy, Galerie de l'Elysée, Paris

Berthe and Oscar Kolin, New York (acquired from the above on February 25, 1965)

Thence by descent

Eduard Trier, Marguerite Arp-Hagenbach and François Arp, Jean Arp, Sculpture, His Last Ten Years, New York, 1968, no. 287, illustration of another cast p. 120

The Berthe & Oscar Kolin collection : twentieth-century art, (exhibition catalogue), PaceWildenstein, New York, 1996

Very good condition. The bronze bears a warm brown patina with no significant scratches or abrasions and in very good condition. There are several tiny nicks to the bronze along the bottom edge of the circular base. There is tiny pitting throughout the surface that is a result of the casting process. The sculpture is structurally sound.
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.
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Often guided by chance and intuition, Arp enjoyed creating organic, irregular shapes evocative of natural forms and parts of the human anatomy. Although he developed a highly abstract visual vocabulary, in his sculptures Arp always established a connection between these biomorphic forms and elements of the natural world in such a way as to unveil the mysterious and poetic elements hidden in everyday forms. The artist always enjoyed seeing his sculptures in outdoor settings where they could enter into a dialogue with the natural world.  With its amorphous and irregular shape, Torse d'ange evidences some of the central theme's of Arp's original manifesto. "All things, and man as well, should be like nature, without measure," he wrote as a young artist, "I wanted to create new appearances, to extract new forms from man" (quoted in Serge Fauchereau, Arp, 1988, p. 15). 

With its tilted head and uplifted gesture, Torse d'ange stylistically recalls his earlier model of Demeter in 1960.  But it is closer still to Entité ailée of 1961, being a smaller version of this work focusing on the upper torso of the angel, and with a different solution to the truncation.  Uniting all three works is the motif of the outstretched wing.  The present bronze is cast number 1 from an edition of 3.