Henri Laurens

terracotta
height: 21cm.
Conceived in 1928 and cast in terracotta in an edition of 7, numbered 0 to 6.

Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris
A. Thustrup, Djursholm
Acquired from the above

Werner Hofmann, The Sculpture of Henri Laurens, New York, 1970, illustration of the stone version p. 123
Sandor Kuthy, Henri Laurens 1885-1954, Fribourg, 1985, no. 45, illustration of another cast 

There are some scuffs to the terracotta, particularly to the edges of the base, consistent with age and handling. There is a 1.5cm area of tape remnants to the right edge of the base. There is some surface dirt and some dust in the crevices. This work is in good overall condition.
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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Femme accroupie is another superb example of Laurens' work. In the present work he adheres to a slightly more strict interpretation of the Cubist aesthetic, a movement introduced to him by Fernand Léger. The angularity of the seated nude and the geometric composition typifies the artist's austere Cubist rendering of the human figure early in his career. The primary motivation behind Laurens' sculpture at this stage was the creation of a form of art based on a non-figurative vocabulary of sculptural signs. The artist was not concerned by trying to impart a likeness of the subject in his sculpture, but with the formal aspect of the work that he referred to as "the sculptural event."

Like his fellow Cubists, Laurens was primarily interested with the formal rhythms of line and volume. In his early work the relationship of the sculpture to its subject is not due to a resemblance but through various motifs that provide signs of the idea or inspiration behind the work. Like many of his fellow artists, Laurens would later relax these rules to allow a more figurative interpretation of the Cubist ideal, creating curvaceous sculptures of the female form, and the present work is an important example from the artist’s transition period.